Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into the Heavens
by Draco Kamikaze
Summary: NarutoBleach xover. As Naruto and Sasuke died at the Valley of the End, their lives were over. But as they become Shinigami, they will find that their past lives will help them, as they gain new allies, friends, and battle their inner demons.
1. Chapter 1

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

(_Techniques_)

**Scene Change**

* * *

I don't own Naruto or Bleach...simple as that.

_**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**__  
_By: Draco Kamikaze

There was an echoing silence as two figures glared each other down.

Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting for quite a while now, and this was going to be the final move; the final strike that ended this ferocious battle. By now, neither of them looked human, and both resonated with a dark power.

Naruto had drawn on the Kyuubi's power to the point where the chakra had become semi-solid. It had quickly leaked out and covered him, giving him the appearance of the nine-tailed fox…though he only had one tail at the moment. In his right hand, a small ball of whirling chakra, the Rasengan, was being formed.

Sasuke had gone into the cursed seals second stage by drawing on its power to the point that it was beginning to affect his mental state. His appearance had changed from that of a normal, fair skinned boy, to a muddy grey color. His normally black hair was longer and smoky grey in color. He had two leathery hand-like 'wings' coming out of his back which seemed to amplify the fact that he was no longer human. On his face, a cross-like mark had formed on the bridge of his nose. The only thing that had not changed during this transformation was his Sharingan which whirled violently as he charged a Chidori in his left hand.

Neither one would back down. Both had made a promise to themselves, one to another person. And now, this strike would determine who would keep their promise.

Leaping forward, they quickly flew across the vast chasm that had kept them apart just moments before. As the flew, Sasuke's 'wings' flapped will noticeable effort; while Naruto's tail seemed to act in the same way, propelling him forward. As they reached each other, they pulled back their respective arms, and let their attacks strike each other.

"Rasengan (_Spiraling Sphere_)!"

"Chidori (_Thousand Birds_)!"

The two powerful techniques clashed, creating a small shockwave of energy. As they pushed their chakra at each other, attempting to end it, they pushed each other's chakra away from themselves. Slowly, a giant ball of dark purple, tainted chakra formed around the two, cutting them off from sight. As their attacks continued the ball grew larger, and then darker in color.  
Within the ball, Naruto reached out his clawed hand, attempting to reach Sasuke. At that same moment, Sasuke reached his hand forward, fully intent on striking Naruto through his heart.  
For a brief second, Sasuke mentally paused. Did he really need to do this? Did he really have to kill his best friend in order to get the Mangekyou? Yes…it was the only way to do so, but would he sink as low as his brother to get that power? The power that his brother had obtained by massacring his entire clan.

No…he wasn't his brother…he never would be.

However, that moment's hesitation did not stop his hand, which plunged harshly into Naruto's chest. At that same moment, Naruto's body was drawn closer to Sasuke, making Naruto's clawed hand slam into Sasuke's skull. There was a near silent crack, as Naruto bashed Sasuke's skull in a few inches, killing him.

As the energy finally began to dissipate, both of their bodies fell to the earth. With a silent thud, their bodies landed against the hard ground. The life had gone out of both of them…and neither of them moved as their souls left their bodies.

Moments later, a light rain began to fall. Slowly, almost as if the heavens were weeping, the rain began to fall faster and harder. Within moments, the entire Valley of the End was under heavy rainfall. As lightning cracked and thunder rumbled, a third figure slowly walked up to them.

Hatake Kakashi looked at their unmoving bodies, feeling his heart breaking as he looked them over. Sasuke's head, crushed. Naruto's heart, destroyed. He knew what had happened, though he would never have any proof as the rain had washed their hands clean of the battle. After standing there for a moment, he found his own tears mixing into the rain.

He slowly created a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) to help him with what he was about to do. It would be a bad idea to bring them back into the village as they were; the villagers wouldn't like that. Quickly dragging them into a cave, he and his clone quickly ran through a string of seals, ending on the tiger seal. Taking a deep breath, they quickly reduced the bodies to nothing more than ash.

It would be better this way. If he buried Sasuke's body, someone would try to take it to learn the secrets of the Sharingan…like Orochimaru. And if he brought him back to the village, they would ask for his eyes as well. It was a never ending cycle of greed.

For Naruto, it wasn't exactly like that. He could be buried wherever; either right there, or in the village it didn't matter. However, once they heard what could be guessed from what he'd seen, they would want his head. After all, now the Last Uchiha loyal to Konoha was no longer alive; they would want retribution of some form.

But…there was also a selfish reason behind it. He didn't want to continually remember that he didn't do more for his sensei's son. That of all the things that he'd done, he hadn't once tried to do more for Naruto. Sure, he'd fought for him while he was young, told the Sandaime to give a portion of his salary to Naruto as an 'allowance', and made sure that he was on his team when he graduated. But in the end, none of it was enough. People still persecuted and attacked him, he was overpriced on food and forced to eat only what he could, and the other person he'd asked to be on his team had killed him.

As he watched their bodies' burn to ash, he sighed. This was no way to return to Konoha; unsuccessful in his mission, bringing in two bags of their ashes. Sakura's heart was going to break when she heard this. Sasuke had left the village…and gotten killed. Naruto had gone after him to get him back…and gotten killed.

It was all ironic how things had worked out; the traitor dying before he could fulfill his dream of another's death, and the hero dying before he could fulfill his dream of protecting others. Two parts of one whole…and yet so different that it provided comedic humor when it was needed. So alike, and yet so different.

Kakashi sighed as he and his clone put the ashes of both boys in a sealing scroll. They would be put in something proper later…when the few people who truly cared for the boys could show up and say a few words. Probably not the biggest gathering, but at least they would be able to watch in peace.

As he walked away, four figures watched him. Two slowly faded away, needed to tell of what they'd seen. The other two slowly began to follow Kakashi back into Konoha.  
**

* * *

**

**Orochimaru's Lair**

"WHAT!?!"

Kabuto winced as Orochimaru continued to yell. "I'm sorry sir, but I only speak the truth."

Orochimaru glared at him, his appearance quite fierce in his new body. Despite the fact that he was now in a weakened state, he still held that same power that would be obvious to anyone. "I want the one who killed Sasuke…I want his head on a platter!"

Kabuto mentally sighed. "I already told you, the Kyuubi's vessel fought Sasuke, but he was killed when he killed Sasuke. They both died, and Kakashi incinerated both of their bodies."

Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, silently thinking over this new information he'd learned. True, he did plan on killing Kakashi for the insolence of his actions; for burning the last remaining 'free' Sharingan. However, even in death, Sasuke had managed to help his cause. By killing the Kyuubi's vessel, Akatsuki would be hard-pressed to find a way to make their weapon work. He had destroyed their plan without ever knowing how he'd helped. As a plus, Itachi might come out of hiding to try and get retribution for Sasuke's death by destroying Konoha.

"Kukukuku…Sasuke-kun, even in death you served a greater purpose than you'll ever realize. Now, Akatsuki will find life so much harder as they attempt to modify their weapon to work without the Kyuubi. Yes, you have done well."

Kabuto blinked as Orochimaru chuckled. Wouldn't they focus their energies on destroying Orochimaru now that there was no need for the Kyuubi? _That would be quite problematic. However…without his ambition of getting the Sharingan from Sasuke, he will once again focus on Itachi. And they do not realize that I am currently free from Sasori's seal…perhaps this will work out better than I thought._

Kabuto just smirked as Orochimaru continued his dark laughter, listening as it echoed throughout his entire base.

* * *

**Akatsuki Base**

"Are you sure your information is reliable?"

Zetsu nodded. "Hai Leader-sama, I saw it with my own eyes. If they weren't dead before, than the Copy Ninja finished them when he incinerated their bodies."

"I see." Pein said as he stared into space. He thought over every part of the weapon that they had, trying to figure some loophole that could be used in case the Kyuubi was lost. But no matter how hard he thought, he was unable to come up with a plan that would work. All the other contingency plans had been if he Ichibi, or some other weak Bijuu had died. For the Kyuubi, the King of Demons, to have died; he'd never factored that possibility in.

After a moment, Itachi spoke up. "If I may Leader-sama, may I lead the investigation for destroying Orochimaru?"

Pein glanced over at Itachi. While he was obviously unaffected on the outside, he could feel rather than see that he was in a slight fit of rage. Obviously hearing that his brother had died had hit him harder than he might admit. "Is something wrong Itachi?"

Itachi shook his head. "We have simply let Orochimaru be a thorn in our organizations side for far too long. Because of him, we lost the Kyuubi, as well as a powerful weapon. I simply wish to remove the obstacle."

Pein contemplated it for a moment before nodding. "Do it. I do wish you good luck; Orochimaru is still a powerful shinobi."

As Itachi slowly began to fade out, he softly said, "So am I."

As Itachi finished fading away, Deidara spoke up. "Leader-sama, what do we do now?"

Pein glanced around the room, glancing at each of the individuals in the room. All of them were S-classed criminals, all of which had done some kind of unpardonable crime that would get them killed should they remain alone.

"Now…we will continue as we have. We will not seek after the Bijuu to capture them, but to eradicate them. There is no need for our plan any more, as the Kyuubi has fallen. However, we should not let these countries continue to use them for their own selfish needs. We will simply rid the world of such powers, and show them that we as a whole are stronger than even demons. A certain amount of respect comes with that."

After a moment of muttering, all of the members slowly nodded, obviously accepting what their leader had ordered. A small, unnoticed smile crossed Pein's face.

**

* * *

A few days later**

There were several celebrations going throughout Konoha as they'd heard of the 'demons' demise at the hands of the Uchiha. While they didn't know what had happened to him, they continually asked for them to get him back. After all, what is a hero if he's not around to be celebrated? And since the law around the Kyuubi's secret had been lifted, the yelled to the high heavens about it as many began to drink to his death…leaving a lot of drunken people all over the place.

Only a few people didn't attend these gatherings; the Rookie Nine, Team Gai, and their sensei's to name a few. They had all been closer to Naruto, and had accepted him. They weren't sure how to react with Sasuke, but they guessed that it wasn't really all his fault; his brother had screwed up his mind, and Orochimaru's seal really hadn't helped the matter.

After the first few days, Tsunade called a few people she knew to her office to give a short farewell to Naruto and Sasuke. As the people began to arrive, two shadowed figures appeared on the windowsill to watch the proceedings. They really had only heard about it since they had been following Kakashi around during the last couple of days.

The shorter, blond figure eventually spoke. "You know, this could almost be considered funny if you would just freaking smile."

The dark-haired broody boy glared at him. "Shut up dobe."

Naruto sighed as he glanced back at the small funeral gathering in the Hokage's room. It was kind of weird attending his own funeral…especially since no one could see him. But, all in all, it was moving to see how many people actually cared for the two of them.

For Naruto, he actually had quite the gathering. A picture of himself was placed on the table behind some kind of weird jar. Apparently, unlike normal people, his body was burned to ash to keep people from desecrating his body, and to make it easier to move it when necessary. Among a few others, the main people he noticed in the room were; Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraya, Tsunade, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Gaara, and Konohamaru. He wasn't sure why Hinata was there, but it was still pleasant to see her there.

Sasuke's gathering was quite smaller, but was still there. Iruka, Kakashi, and Sakura were there for both of them as people who personally knew them, along with Ino, Lee, and Gaara…who didn't know him as well. Sasuke was inwardly touched by even the small gathering, but was slightly irked that Naruto had more people there to morn for him.

After a moment, Tsunade stood up. "We are gathered here today, to share some final words for these two Genin. If I may, I'd like to start." Seeing their encouraging glances, she went on. "I can't say much for Sasuke, other than he was a major blockhead. Even though he'd been through a lot, he never seemed to notice that there were others who had it worse, even if it was in other ways."

"I'm not a blockhead." Sasuke mumbled, causing Naruto to chuckle. To think that Tsunade would say something so blunt about Sasuke was quite moving…especially since it seemed to poke at his nerves.

After taking a slow, shaky breath, Tsunade continued. "Naruto however, was one of a kind. He had a heart of gold, although he wasn't one for petty words. He'd let his fists do more talking than his mouth; and that was actually admirable. He may not have realized how much this told everyone else, but it showed his true character when he fought. He was selfless in ways I myself don't understand, never believing that he was fighting for his own gain.

"He went off to get Sasuke back, because he didn't want to believe that Sasuke was that thick headed. He wanted to believe that he wouldn't sink that low in order to gain power to kill his brother. I'm sure that he would've walked away once he realized that he was going on his own accord, but something kept him from doing this. A promise. Uzumaki Naruto…never broke his promises. He fought Sasuke, and won. He succeeded where others might not have."

There was a light applause that when around the room. Tsunade walked away, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she sat down. After a couple seconds, Kakashi stepped forward."I may have known both of them better than most others, but there is still so much that I didn't know. How much Naruto was in pain because of his lack of family, Sasuke's pain because of seeing the death of his family. And yet, both of them shared a similar pain. Sure, Naruto never knew his family, but Sasuke had a chance…a chance to remember them."

"You know, I never thought of it like that before." Naruto mumbled as he listened to Kakashi continue speaking on different things he remembered about the two of them. After a moment, he turned back to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke."

"What dobe?" Sasuke asked. Before, he'd been looking into the room, but now his face was looking out over Konoha.

"What was it like to know your family?"

Sasuke winced, turning back into the room. "I…really don't want to talk about it."

"Please…I want to hear a little of what it was like." Naruto said, practically begging Sasuke.

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "We have eternity, so I'll tell you later."

Naruto stuck out his tongue before turning back to the different people. They'd more or less missed Sakura, Ino, and Lee's little speeches on each of them…although the waterfall of tears Lee was crying seemed to be more than humanly possible.

After a couple seconds deliberation, Hinata stood up. "A…ano…I can't say anything for Sasuke-kun. But…I can say a few things for…Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked as he noticed her face flush red. For the first time, he recognized it for what it was; a blush. His usually slow mind suddenly put two and two together for the first time in his life; causing him to suddenly slam his back against a wall, finger pointed at Hinata in something close to fear and shock. "SHE HAS A CRUSH ON ME?!?!"

Sasuke tried not to chuckle. "You just now realized that? I guess when the dobe knows, everyone knows. Of course, Suna could have done without knowing how thickskulled you are"

"Wait…you knew? ...who else knew?!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe, everyone knew that she had a crush on you. Heck, her father probably knew, and he doesn't spend that much time with her."

Naruto glanced back at her. "Wow...I'm such a blockhead."

After a couple of seconds, Hinata continued. "Naruto-kun…was a strong person. He…wasn't a genius like Sasuke…but he worked hard. He had to work…a lot harder than most of the other people in our class."

"YOSH!!! SURELY HE WAS BRIMMING WITH –" Lee said before Neji quickly pulled out a large club labeled, 'in case of emergency', and knocked Lee over. Neji glanced at Hinata apologetically before motioning for her to continue.

Hinata smiled lightly as she continued. "I know that…most people didn't recognize Naruto. But he put his all into everything he did, more if he could. He would train for hours on end before collapsing from exhaustion, trying to get whatever he'd been working on done."

Naruto blinked as he realized the only way for her to know so much about him. "…I never realized that I had my own personal stalker."

Sasuke laughed. "You really are dull."

A vein on Naruto's head twitched. He quietly muttered under his breath. "Watch it, teme."

After taking a shaky breath, Hinata continued. "Ano…he had the confidence that I could only hope for, and I tried so hard to emulate that part of him. He never gave up despite the obvious opposition…and would always do his best in everything. But…every time I tried to speak to him…I'd be frozen by my fear of disappointing him…even though he probably never noticed me. So…even though it's too late…" Hinata slowly walked towards Naruto's picture, fear evident on her face.

As she stood before his picture, she blushed a red that would make an apple jealous. Then, unable to keep eye contact with even his picture, she bowed lightly. "Naruto-kun…I…really, really like you. You've inspired me to become stronger, and I hope to become strong…like you were. I know it doesn't matter since you're already passed, but I hope…that you'll still be able to hear me."  
Naruto couldn't believe it. His mouth was practically on the floor, his eyes bugging out of his sockets. Someone admired him? Liked him even? It was almost too much for his mind to take in, and definitely more than Hinata could handle seeing as she'd fainted after finishing what she'd said. If anyone had seen Naruto, they probably would have had a hard time containing their laughter.

Speaking of people seeing him, Sasuke was smirking behind him. It was about time that he realized that someone liked him…of course, it might have been better had she said it to him while he was alive. As for himself…he kind of wished that he had shyer fan girls. Then he wouldn't have any problem with them chasing him down the streets.

After a couple of moments, having finally revived a fainted Hinata, Neji stepped forward. "I hope that you can hear me wherever you are Naruto. You…have been an amazing inspiration. Because of you…I was able to let go of my self-destructive mindset; of believing that Fate guided us to do what we do, and that we have no control over out destinies. Now, like you, I'll walk my own path…and will attempt to change the Hyuuga clan for the better. I will try to get rid of our cursed seal, and prove that I am just as strong, if not stronger, than any other Main member. Naruto, thank you." Unlike Hinata, he fully bowed to Naruto's picture, showing a great deal of respect for a person he'd just met in battle.

Naruto grinned punching his fist in the air. "Go for it Neji!"

"You know, I never really knew Naruto…like everyone else in the room." Gaara said, suddenly speaking up. A few people jumped at his sudden involvement in the conversation. "But…I'd like to say a few words. If it's alright with you Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade blinked as she stared at Gaara. What did he have to say for the blond? After a moment, she nodded. "Go ahead."

Gaara bowed. "Thank you Hokage-sama." Slowly turning back to Naruto's picture, he spoke slowly. "Naruto-san, you have influenced my life in a good way, one that has been more powerful than even that of what my father did. And he'd been influencing me since before I turned six years old.

"You lived a life so similar to mine, constantly outcast from everyone else, a broken tool in the eyes of some. I myself was unable to take it, and eventually broke down and became a psychotic murderer, believing that my demon was my mother; that it was only through others deaths that I was alive. It was a most pitiful existence, but it was also the only way I knew that worked. But you, you lived the same as me. And yet, you pushed onward until you found people to accept you. And then you pushed the boundaries of that realm until you had more and more people surrounding you. You were motivated by your dream of protecting others…and of becoming Hokage.

"You fought me, and defeated me and my principles. And there is a saying; that your enemy knows the person behind the mask when the fight in a battle that risks their life, because you cannot afford to hold back your true self. I saw the real you during that time, so I feel that I understand you a little better than most the people in this village. I hope that you will allow me to revise my principles by borrowing a few of yours. Like you, I will fight for those I can call precious people. I too, will work hard to win by my own strength. I will follow your example to gain peoples respect…and become Kazekage."

Naruto laughed. "Wow, I didn't see any of that coming. What about you teme?"

"Whatever dobe." Sasuke said as he looked away. Everything Gaara said had been true…and had grown strong because he knew people, and was fighting for them. And now, at his funeral, more people had come to show some amount homage for Naruto than for him.

But then…he hadn't had time to make lasting relationships with others. He could die at any time because he'd gone to fight his brother. As he thought about it, he realized what he'd been doing; he'd been slowly becoming his brother. Sure, he couldn't massacre his clan, but he'd isolated himself instead of reaching out and attempting to form relations with people who could have helped him stay alive to beat his brother.

Finally, Jiraya stood forward. Giving a sidelong glance at Kakashi, he spoke up. "Naruto was a kid of many talents. He was a gaki, yes; but there was never a gaki who put his all into everything he did. He mastered the Rasengan in a month, something that took the Yondaime three years to master. He was a loud mouth, and may never truly understand how amazing my Icha Icha (Make-Out) Series is, but he was one to never back down from his beliefs."

"…I'm not sure whether to be happy or insulted." Naruto said as he listened to Jiraya contradict himself.

"I wouldn't worry about it…although he is pretty strong." Sasuke said as he noticed a strange aura that Jiraya had. He hadn't really noticed it when he saw him, but not it was almost impossible to miss.

A few tears slid down Jiraya's face as he continued to speak. "That blond gaki…I'll miss him. I'll miss Naruto…my godson."

Naruto fell over, while other people in the room gasped. Jiraya was his godfather? The legendary Toad Sage was the man who was supposed to take Naruto in? What else could that mean?  
Jiraya pretended to not notice the commotion that he'd caused. "Since he's dead, I guess there's no reason to hide it." Turning to the people in the room, he took a slightly shaky breath. "Uzumaki was not Naruto's real surname; it was his mother's surname. His real surname was Namikaze… and he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage."

If what he'd said before had gotten people's attention, this was too much for some people to handle. Lee tried to yell about how youthful Naruto was to be related to a famous person, but Neji hit him over the head with the bat again so that he'd stay unconscious before he grinned at this revelation. Hinata just blinked, unable to process that information at the moment; she was still caught up on the fact he still had family. Kakashi and Tsunade grinned, giving each other a knowing glance. Sasuke fell back into the room. Naruto, Ino, and Sakura fainted.

After waiting a moment to revive Ino and Sakura, Jiraya quickly explained. "As much as Naruto would have gotten respect from people knowing about who his family was, it would have also brought in a great deal of grievances to the village, ones that we could only guess and prepare for."

"Grievances?" Hinata asked, quietly playing with her fingers. She seemed nervous to be speaking to someone of obviously higher rank, and power so informally.

"Yes, grievances. Like the fact that Iwa might have attacked us just to kill him for who his father was. After all, it was because of him that we won the Third Shinobi War. Or the fact that other people might have hated him for things he might've done while traveling around. Kakashi probably knows better than anyone else here; he was his student after all."

Sakura gasped, turning to her sensei. "You were the student of the Kiroi Senko (Yellow Flash)?" The Kiroi Senko, the legend who defeated Iwa, was her sensei's sensei?

Kakashi eye-smiled as he spoke. "That's right. And I had the honor of seeing his Hiraishin no Jutsu in action on more than one occasion. Being punctual was something that he prided himself in. My own personal habits come more from my teammate than from my sensei. But that's a story for another time."

"Oh." Sakura said, glancing down as she quickly processed the information about her blond teammate. She'd never really thought about him much before, and it was a different experience to do so. After always chasing after Sasuke, she'd never once realized that her blonde teammate might have that kind of background.

Meanwhile, Naruto was going ballistic. "My father was the Yondaime?! Do you realize what that means?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "You tell me. You're the crazy idiot who's waving his hands around like a maniac."

Naruto stopped, glaring at Sasuke. "You don't have to be like that. Couldn't you be happy that I found out a little bit about my family? I mean, is it so much for you to be kind every now and then?"

"Yes." Sasuke said with no hesitation in his voice as he shuddered. "If I show any weakness, the fan girls will swarm me."

Naruto blinked, realizing that Sasuke had slightly opened up to him. "Is that one of the reasons for how you act? Even though you're dead?"

Sasuke shrugged, not really wanting to reveal too much right now. "One of them. There are a few others, but I'm not going to tell you."

Naruto nodded. "I understand." _Oh, I'm so going to get the rest of the story out of him the first chance I get. This is going in the 'blackmail' folder. Kukukuku._

The two of them watched as the people began to slowly walk out of the room, leaving only Jiraya and Kakashi. The two of them had asked Tsunade to leave for her medical session that she'd started. While she'd obviously been confused, she did as they asked. She never understood why Jiraya did some of the things he did, but really didn't feel that she could really understand if he tried to explain it. It was complicated.

After a couple seconds of silence, Kakashi raised his headband to reveal his Sharingan. He stared directly at Naruto and Sasuke, who were still slightly hidden in the shadows. "I know you're there, why don't you step out into the light?"

Naruto blinked. He'd thought that they were invisible…was he wrong? "Um…does he mean us?"

"Yes Naruto, both you and Sasuke have been hanging around for the entire session, so unless you know two other dead people, we're obviously speaking to you." Jiraya said sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How can you see us? I thought we were –"

"Dead?" Kakashi said, finishing his sentence. Naruto blinked, suddenly remembering when Kakashi mocked Zabuza during their first battle. "Of course you two are dead; there are simply different forms of dead."

Naruto scratched his head. "Huh?"

Jiraya scratched the back of his head. "Let's put it simply so he doesn't get confused. You'll have to explain for yourself since I really don't get how you can see ghosts and all that."

Kakashi smiled. "Alright. Before the Third Shinobi War, I was actually able to see ghosts, and use a special ability others believed to be 'white' chakra. In reality, I was using a technique that didn't require any chakra, but a type of energy called reiatsu (Spirit Pressure). However, after I got this Sharingan, my ability became suppressed within the Sharingan. Now, I can't use my ability, and can't see ghosts unless I remove my headband. However, I can still hear them. That's how I'm able to read my book without running into anything."

Jiraya nodded. "That makes sense. As for myself, I got my ability to see ghosts shortly after I passed a test that required me to 'die' in order to gain the power to draw in nature chakra. I didn't literally die, but it allowed me to collect chakra from the surrounding area into myself. It's not really my strong point in big battles, but it's really quite handy."

Naruto grabbed his head in pain. "Ow…too much information. What the heck is reiatsu again?"

Jiraya and Kakashi answered at the same time, in perfect tandem. "Your spirit energy."

Sasuke blinked. "And, why are we supposed to know this?"

Jiraya gave him a knowing look. "You'll find out after you pass over." He then made a waving motion. "Byakuya, if you please."

Sasuke tilted his head to the side for a second. "Who are you –"

"Konso (Soul Burial)." A voice said from behind them. Naruto and Sasuke whipped around to see the person, only to feel light taps on their heads. In a split second, they were slowly enveloped in a glowing light. Neither of them moving, feeling a strange peace coming over them.

As they slowly began to fade away, Naruto swore they heard someone say, "We'll meet again on the other side…I look forward to seeing how you'll progress."

After they'd been disappeared, Byakuya came out. Jiraya gave him a light smile. "Thanks for the help."

Byakuya nodded. After a couple seconds, he asked something that had slightly confused him. "Why did –"

"Naruto's stubborn; he wouldn't want to 'pass over' quietly unless he was sure that all of his precious people were fine. And that would mean that they'd have to die first." Jiraya said, filling him in.

Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke would've just stayed around to see who defeats Itachi. It's nothing to big; they just needed to pass over."

Byakuya nodded. "Very well then. I will ask for a squad to be sent out to find them. It shouldn't be to hard considering the amount of reiatsu coming off them. I'm almost surprised by the potential they have."

Jiraya chuckled. "Don't you believe it. Sasuke may be a genius, but it'll be Naruto you'll need to keep an eye on."

Kakashi grinned. "He was Konoha's most unpredictable ninja…now he'll just have to be the Seireitei's (Court of Pure Souls) most unpredictable Shinigami. I hope you can keep up."

Byakuya sighed. "I believe that we can handle one kid." Reaching out, a black butterfly appeared, opening the gate back to the Seireitei.

After the door closed, Kakashi turned to Jiraya. "Do you think we should have told him about his Kage Bunshin?"

Jiraya shook his head. "No…he'll have to find out on his own. Besides, it would be no fun if Naruto's element of surprise was ruined."

Both of them grinned as they left the room. Konoha was going to be a boring place without Naruto; but the Seireitei was going to be a very interesting place in the time to come.

* * *

AN: Alright, this is my first crossover fanfiction. I'm doing this as a kind of 'break' between this story and **Naruto: The Flame Soldier**, as well as to get this story out of my head. I have no idea who to do for pairings, so if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Signed,

Draco Kamikaze


	2. Chapter 2

"Speech"

_Thought_

**Scene Change**

Technique's

I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**  
By: Draco Kamikaze

"DOBE!"

"TEME!"

Two thunderous war cries rang out as the two boys slammed into each other, neither one of them wanting to lose any ground. A few of the newer people were watching in awe at their ferocious battle, while a few of the people who'd been there for just a little bit longer preferred to remain as far away from the commotion as possible. After all, these fights were over an object of great worth, and things could get ugly very fast.

Said object was a measly loaf of bread that was sitting in the very epicenter of their battleground.

They'd crossed over quite some time ago, about of month or so, arriving in a place that the people called the Rukongai, a place where different souls would gather after they died. The Rukongai was divided into eighty-two 'districts'. The lower the number, the better the environment where you lived. They'd arrived in the seventy-second district, a place that, while not that good, was actually a decent place to be. Of course, after you were there for two weeks with nothing better to do, you have to get creative to have fun.

Thus, watching Naruto and Sasuke fight over who got the bigger half of bread became a common sight for the people there. It kept them strong and alert, and gave the people who didn't need to eat a little entertainment.

Naruto swung wildly for Sasuke's face. Sasuke smirked as he countered with by dodging inside 's guard and slamming his fist into his gut. Naruto stumbled back a few feet before returning to the battle. Once again, Sasuke would dodge and attack when showed an opening. They both knew that Sasuke had a slight edge skill wise, but Naruto was a monster for punishment.

Naruto struck at Sasuke's head with his leg, trying to knock him over. Sasuke almost missed the oncoming strike, and Naruto got a glancing blow to the side of his head despite his last second dodge. As tried to bring his foot down, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Sasuke's sweeping kick, which made him fall quite ungracefully onto his butt with a loud grunt as the air was forced from his lungs.

Naruto and Sasuke gasped for breath, both glaring at the other as they picked themselves up. This was a deciding part of the match; whoever made the first move could either end the match then and there, or find themselves on the ground in defeat. Neither of them wanted to lose, and yet neither of them could afford to make a wrong move.

Lightly sidestepping around in a circular motion, they both took deep breaths. Finally, Naruto stomped his foot on the ground, trying to pull a feint on Sasuke. Surprisingly, Sasuke fell for the feint and charged forward, quickly finding his counterattack ruined by Naruto's sturdy form. Sliding into a deeper stance, and then moving his right leg a little further back to prepare for his next strike, Naruto let Sasuke continue forward till he was directly in front of him till he moved. Swinging his right foot in an arch-like motion, he quickly called out the name of his strike. "Konoha Reppuu (_Leaf Gale_)!"

Unable to slow himself down, Sasuke found himself unceremoniously knocked over Naruto's leg as his legs were knocked his own out from underneath him. It was anything but a textbook strike; not at all like the strike Lee had used on Naruto the first time they'd met. Naruto's small ego had stung a little bit, but no so much when he realized how hard Lee must have trained to learn the taijutsu that he had. That had actually perked his interest, and he eventually began learning a little with Gai before and after Lee's operation, which was why he was able to perform the Konoha Reppuu, and had a slightly better taijutsu form. Had he asked Kakashi, who had still been recovering from Itachi's attack, he wouldn't have gotten anywhere. Besides, having a hands on teacher was a big change for him, necessary for his learning; while not at all helping his sanity.

Naruto slowly straightened out, a dirt covered grin on his face. He walked over to the bread and picked it up. "I win."

Sasuke grumbled as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Naruto broke the bread in half, tossing the smaller portion to Sasuke. Sasuke mumbled, "I guess I'll have to call that a first. You actually managed to knock me over with the last strike."

Naruto chuckled, sitting down next to him. "Well, you don't have a bigger edge anymore since we can't perform any jutsu here. Remember, no chakra?" he waved his arms around as though he were trying to emphasis his point.

Sasuke shook his head. "How can I not remember when you remind me every two hours or so?"

Anyone else walking by who might have heard their conversation would have thought that the two hated each other from the very cores of their souls. But in their eyes, the semi-playful manner in which the verbally struck each other was almost comical. After realizing that Itachi wasn't going to be dead for a while, Sasuke had finally given up on trying to kill him. He still retained his cold, 'I really don't care' attitude, but he was actually getting along better with Naruto. Death does that to a person; makes them rethink how they lived their lives, and try to make them better. Or was it near death experiences?

Naruto on the other hand found that there was little to change about himself. Sure, being a hyperactive loud mouthed brat never helped him in life, but at least now they wouldn't scorn him about how it was unfit for a shinobi to be so loud. Of course, if a shinobi saw him in his _white_ yukata, they might have screamed in pain. If orange was a horrible color to wear for a shinobi, then white was twenty times worse. After all, at least with the orange he could blend in with a _few_ of his surroundings. White was like painting a bulls-eye all over again to any enemy he met; a symbol of purity or not.

Sasuke glanced over at , who was happily munching on his bread. "Hey dobe, why do you think we don't have chakra anymore?"

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I really don't know. Maybe…that weird stuff Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin talked about…what was it called?"

Sasuke looked away lazily, not at all surprised that Naruto had forgotten for the twentieth time that day. "Reiatsu?"

Naruto snapped his fingers with a grin. "Yea! That reiatsu stuff! Maybe that stuff took the place of our normal chakra, and because we don't know how to feel it, we can't mold it. If we know how to mold this stuff, we could possibly be able to perform jutsu's again!"

Sasuke shook his head, tearing a small portion of his bread off. "Dobe, your reiatsu is your 'spirit pressure'…so it probably ties into the two halves of chakra that we used to mold together."

tapped his head thoughtfully. "You mean spiritual and physical energy?"

Sasuke nodded. "Our chakra was divided into two parts, a spiritual part, and a physical part. These bodies can't really be considered 'physical', although they do have a form. We're basically just spiritual entities that are bound together to maintain a human-like form."

Naruto shook his head, ripping another portion of the bread off. "Then why is it that whenever I feel for this energy, I can't? If we're spiritual entities, shouldn't we be able to feel and mold this energy?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. However, did hear something from some of the people in town that might be helpful."

Naruto put the last piece of his bread into his mouth. Grinning at what Sasuke said, he motioned for him to continue. "They said that it was someone called the Shinigami who sent them over here to the Rukongai by performing something called a Konso. Apparently they are people who have a large amount of reiatsu and are sent over to the physical world to help souls pass over, as well as patrol for Hollows."

Naruto stopped in mid chew. After taking that in for a moment, he swallowed quickly. "You mean that there are people here who know how to control their reiatsu? And they might know how to teach us?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yea. Some of the older people keep talking about how there's supposed to be a squad of them coming through here on patrol later today. They seemed kind of excited."

Naruto grinned. "Do you think it would be too much to say hello?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know, what do you say we find out?"

Naruto's grin widened as he began to bolt down the street. "Last one there smells like rotten milk."

Sasuke blinked as he watched the blond run off, his mind slowly processing what he'd said. Then, "Hey! Get back here dobe! I'm going to break you legs for this!"

"It's not my fault you're slow!" Naruto yelled back as Sasuke began to run after him. laughed into the wind as they soon came side by side, running through the streets to where the Shinigami were.

**Five Hours Later**

"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto yelled as he flopped onto his back, rolling in the grass that was just outside the gates of the district.

Sasuke glared at . "Shut up dobe. Just because we got here a little early doesn't…"

Naruto quickly sat up. "No, a little early would be an hour before they came. Three hours is pushing it…to the extreme! Five hours is like freaking torture!!!" He growled again as he violently pushed himself back onto his back. "They're as bad as Kakashi-sensei!"

Sasuke sighed as he sat down beside . Truth be told, he wouldn't sweat when the shinigami showed up; for all he cared, they could show up a midnight two days from now. But with Naruto whining like a little baby for three hours, he was beginning to get a little peeved. After all, who in all the Elemental Countries could stand listening to _Naruto_ whine about how late someone was for _five_ _hours_. A person of even the strongest mind would collapse after listening to him whine like that unless they were some kind of mindless drone or completely deaf person.

After another couple of moments, he saw the small group of shinigami headed their way…at least, he thought they were shinigami. They were dressed in black kimono's, which would stand out amongst the white yukata's they were wearing. For a second, he was almost tempted to tell Naruto that they were coming just to shut him up. But the prankster side of him…that tiny little kid that had been once locked away, was telling him to let him stay in a funk for a while longer. After all, he wouldn't be on the receiving end of Naruto's fury when he went off. Plus, it would be funny to see how they handled an infuriated .

As they approached, Naruto noticed their presence. Realizing that these people were the shinigami they had been waiting for, an almost evil grin covered his face. As they drew closer, he jumped to his feet. "WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN!?!"

It was so rewarding to see their shocked expression as they jumped back. While wasn't really angry, he was definitely ticked at how long it had taken for them to get there. Lucky for them, one of the guys was able to recover a little bit faster. "Meh, we saw a small gathering of Hollows and went to cleanse them."

Naruto and Sasuke knew a little bit about Hollows…in passing. From what they knew, Hollows were souls who were so consumed by a negative emotion that they eventually lost their heart, and had a large hole appear in their chest. They were supposedly monstrous in size, with white masks covering their faces. The masks were supposed to protect their dark intentions from damage.

It was the Shinigami's job to cleanse them for the souls they had consumed while they were Hollows. Their own souls were supposed to be cleansed from the mistakes made as a Hollow, although they were still judged on their past mistakes.

Naruto scratched his head, trying not to growl. It was a good excuse, and there was really nothing for him to say anything since they had come up with something reasonable enough to placate him for now. Of course, if they said one wrong thing, he planned on knocking them dom come.

Then the man who had first spoken just had to open his mouth. "Of course afterwards, we stopped along the way to have a nice large dinner in the fifty-third district. That took about an hour of our time, and we ended about a half hour ago, so don't sweat it shorty."

There was a long pause. A dark, chilling aura slowly swept over the poor Shinigami. A few of them stepped back in fear from the amount of spirit pressure that was suddenly being emitted by Naruto. After a second, he glared at the shinigami. "…shorty?"

Sasuke winced. It was time to unleash the fury.

With a loud roar, Naruto tackled the poor man to the ground. The other shinigami moved out of the way as he began to wrestle with the man, trying to get the upper hand. Realizing that he couldn't fight fair, Naruto did everything and anything that he could; bite, kick, scratch, punch. Needless to say, the guy didn't seem very pleased by it, and soon began to employ a few of the same tactics against Naruto.

The shinigami watched in amazement as the two of them continued to wrestle each other. For a brief second, they thought that their friend would win as he got on top to pin him; until Naruto used his short size to his advantage to get his feet planted into his stomach and launched him over his head. He landed with an undignified gasp as the air was knocked out of him.

Panting lightly, Naruto slowly stood up. Watching his new adversary was standing as well; albeit, let winded than was. Naruto grinned. "So, ready for more?"

The man chuckled. "Sure kid. Say…what's your name?"

grinned, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "Uzumaki Naruto."

The man blinked. "Wait…are you sure you're not Namikaze Naruto?"

Naruto stopped grinning. The sudden memory of his real heritage came back to him, and he realized that all he knew was his dad's nickname. He didn't even remember what the guy's last name was. "Uh…I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

The man pulled out a piece of paper. "We were ordered by Byakuya-taicho to retrieve two powerful souls who had recently been sent to the Rukongai. They are known by the names; Namikaze Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stepped forward. "I guess you found us then."

The man blinked. "Uchiha Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded, making the man grin. "Well, that makes our job all the more easier. How about we wait here for the night? It's getting pretty dark out, and most Hollows prefer the night time to attack. We'll explain a few things before we go to the Seireitei."

Naruto grinned. "Will you teach us something cool?"

The man shrugged. "I guess so; we weren't instructed to do so, but it'll be something to do to pass the time. Come on, let's go back inside."

As they began to walk back into the district, Sasuke stopped. "Hey, wait a minute." The guy stopped, glancing back at Sasuke's criticizing face. "What's your name?"

The man grinned. "I am the third seat in the thirteenth division of the Juusan Gotei (_13 Shinigami Court Divisions_), Shiba Kaien."

**Later**

"Holy…"

"I know."

"He didn't…"

"But he did."

Kaien could barely hear the idle chatter of his squad as his ears were still ringing. The reason being that he'd been forcefully sent into a wall. After shaking his head, he began to realize that Naruto was shouting something. Trying to read his lips was pointless as the boy kept on moving around, and wouldn't hold still.

Getting frustrated, he grabbed 's shoulders. "Calm down. Now, I want you to repeat what you said…slowly."

Naruto gulped. "I said I'm sorry. I don't know what happened; I just pushed everything I could into the technique and it sort of…"

Kaien held up a hand. "It's alright , it's my fault. I should have told you to regulate your reiatsu output. I mean, I didn't realize that you'd have enough reiatsu to do _this_ with the first Hado (_Destruction Spells_)."

This…being that he'd forced Kaien completely through a wall. It was his own fault for volunteering to act as the test dummy for the boys practice. He thought that it would have taken a moment or two, trying to feel the flow of their reiatsu, and then forming it with the Hado's chant. Of course, the moment Naruto felt his reiatsu, he stood up and shouted the Hado, no chant or anything like that; just the name of the Hado. And that's how he found himself thrown through a wall.

Working out the kinks in his neck, he grinned at . "You know, the only reason you need control is so that you can learn the Bakudo (_Binding Spell_). Cause if you don't…you'll have a hard time passing the academy."

Naruto suddenly had a look of terror on his face. "…we have to go to back to an academy?"

Kaien tilted his head to the side as he gazed curiously at the blonde. "Um…yes? How else did you expect to become shinigami? If we just let anyone go out, we wouldn't have anyone left as they'd all be dead. Plus, most people don't have your natural talent."

He was surprised by the smile that suddenly gave him. It was one that seemed to be made from embarrassment and pride; it was like he had somehow fed a dying flame, and its light was returning. He couldn't help but feel happy for the kid as well.

Sasuke grumbled as he stood up. "Hey dobe, come here."

Naruto smiled as he skipped over towards Sasuke, not realizing what Sasuke was planning. "What do you want –?"

"Hado 1: Sho!" Sasuke yelled, punching his fist at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself flying backwards at a high speed. Unlike Kaien, he didn't have a nice, hard wall to stop him. He soon found himself tumbling through the grass a ways away. When he glanced up, he saw Sasuke looking smugly at him. "Teme!"

"What? I didn't get a turn, and I didn't want to further injure Kaien-san. I wanted to see how much damage I could do if I forced all my reiatsu into my first Hado Besides, you can get injured all you want since you're not as cool as we are." Sasuke placed a hand on a confused Kaien's shoulder and gave his trademark smirk.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" Naruto roared as he quickly rushed back into the home, tackling Sasuke.

Kaien and his team watched the two of them kicking up a large dust cloud. It was quite humorous to see two talented boys going at each others throats like little kids. It was more than obvious that they hadn't been dead for long by their behavior, but a few of the members couldn't help but feel a little weak. Sure, Kaien had totally left himself open to that hit; but had it been them, they doubted they would have moved him more than a foot or so away from themselves. Things would be quite interesting with these two around.

After another moment, they realized that neither of them appeared to be winning their little fight. Kaien sighed, "If you two don't stop this foolish fighting right now, I'm going to leave you here tomorrow."

As quickly as it had started, the fight stopped; both Naruto and Sasuke sitting cross-legged with semi-innocent looks on their faces. After all, it was more fun for them than it was dangerous. As they continued to smile at them, they began to feel a sudden weakness start to overcome them. Within a moment, they were on the floor, sleeping soundly.

Kaien glanced at the two of them, chuckling a little as he covered them with a blanket. "Naruto and Sasuke huh? I do believe that the Seireitei's going to be quite interesting with them around." He glanced back at his squad. "Alright, we're going to rest for the night, understand."

One of the members glanced at the large wall. "Um…Kaien-dono, what should we do about the wall?"

Kaien shrugged. "Just say that a Hollow tried to get in and we stopped it. That's the usual B.S. we use, right?"

After thinking it over, and deciding that they were still pretty tired, they walked to their respective rooms to sleep. Kaien just grinned. "I can't wait till they get their power tamed; it'll be a sight to see them walking around as Captains."

**Later That Night**

Naruto rolled over on his sleeping mat, listening to the soft snores of the other people around him. But for some reason, he himself couldn't get back to sleep. The silence was giving him a lot of time to think, and some things had come up.

For one, what would he do now? He was becoming a shinigami after all his life wanting to be a shinobi. And yet, it felt good to be around people who didn't hate him; it was like going from an environment you hated to do something you loved, to going to an environment you loved to do something you had no clue about. So confusing, and it brought no comfort through the night.

After a couple seconds, he sat up. There was something that was bothering him more than those thoughts; something he actually had avoided thinking about since he'd arrived in the Rukongai. He slowly stood up, walking over to the hole in the wall. As he stood there, staring at the moon and the stars in the night's sky, the final problem he'd been wrestling with returned.

_What do I do…since I can't become Hokage?_

He'd remembered how he'd been so vocal about it; becoming the strongest Hokage _ever_ to get the respect of the villagers. But here, there wasn't a Hokage…or any other kind of Kage if he thought about it. And he wasn't going to stop becoming a shinigami just because of that…it was just something to think about.

_What now? How do I live my second life? Is this really what I want?_

_**...…it is.**_

Naruto jumped, glancing around. Seeing no one else awake, he gazed out into the surrounding forest, trying to see who might have spoken.

"Hello?"

_**Protect them……your precious people.**_

"Who's there? Show yourself!" whispered, trying not to awaken anyone as he raised his voice to a level that anyone outside could hear.

_**Protect them…protect them…protect them…**_

After a couple seconds, the strange voice began to fade away. Naruto glanced around, realizing that he was alone. Groaning, he rubbed his head. "I must be crazy, hearing voices…ha!"

Turning around, he slowly slid back onto his mat. This time, his mind was strangely clear, and soon he was fast asleep, none the wiser about what had just transpired.

**Next Day**

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at their new surroundings. They'd long left the Rukongai, and entered the Seireitei; it was nothing like he'd expected it to be. He really wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like, but it was far beyond anything he'd expected. People were walking around, conversing with each other, training each other, and just simply walking around.

Kaien noticed the sudden excited look on Naruto's face, and couldn't help but grin. It was infectious. Which couldn't be said about Sasuke and his cloud of gloom. He too had the same kind of curiosity, but there wasn't any active enthusiasm. He just had something to akin to lust in his eyes for a moment as he noticed some of the different zanpakuto's that people were using in their sparring matches. After a couple seconds, he began to clutch his head, as if desperately trying to suppress some painful memories. Kaien decided to ask him about what he'd been think about…much later. It looked like he was trying to forget something really, really painful.

"Alright, you guys, go ahead to our division! I want to see a report on Ukitake-taicho's desk before he got back. Dismissed!" Kaien yelled, watching his squad run ahead to their division, cheerful smiles on their faces. Kaien grinned as he turned back to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright you guys, we'll be going from division to division to let you get a feel for how things run around here. You'll have to go through our academy course for the next ten years before you are accepted to test yourself into your very own division. While you're there, you'll learn Kido (_Demon Path_), Hakuda (_Hand-to-hand combat_), Hoho (_Step method_), pure speed, and finally Zanjutsu (_swordsmanship_)."

Naruto scratched his head. "Um…I didn't catch half the stuff you said, but that last one sounded really cool!"

Kaien chuckled. "Don't worry; they'll cover everything more than once, so you won't have to forget. You'll do great."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Kaien-san!"

Sasuke frowned as he continued to look away. It was weird, how he was unable to make friends as easily as was, and yet at the same time, he wanted to be Kaien's friend. He'd constantly avoided friendships because he was scared that he would become attached to that person, and be unable to kill them when the time came. But since he no longer had the Sharingan…did he really need that old habit? He was going to have to think long and hard on this.

After a moment, Kaien stopped in front of a fairly large building.

He stopped, "This is the Thirteenth division, led by the captain Ukitake Jushiro. Our vice captain died recently, so we're trying to figure out who's going to become his replacement." Kaien grinned. "I'm one of those who is most likely to become it…I'm not sure if I'm qualified, but Ukitake has been really insistant about this. Oh, ohayo Ukitake-taicho! I'm just introducing a newbie around before I take him to the Sotaicho. _(Main general)_"

A white haired man walked towards them, a warm smile cross his face, "Ah, good to see you Kaien-san. How has your training been going recently?"

Kaien chuckled nervously. "Well…I'm getting it in whenever I'm not out patrolling the Rukongai."

Ukitake nodded. "That's good to hear Kaien, I'm sure that you'll make a fine vice-captain for me. And who are these two with you?"

Kaien grinned again. "These are Uchiha Sasuke, the broody one, and Namikaze Naruto, the short blond kid."

"I'm not short!" Naruto yelled while Ukitake simply laughed. Naruto pouted. "It's not funny."

Ukitake just shook his head and shook both their hands. His eyes flickered in surprise by the amount of reiatsu these fresh souls had in comparison to some of the others he'd felt. He laughed lightly. "Well, I must say that it's good to see we have some fresh talent preparing to join our ranks. Good luck to the both of you."

Naruto and Sasuke both waved back at him as Kaien led them on in their tour of the Seireitei.

The next stop was the twelfth division. Needless to say, found that Naruto's eyes were flickering around as he looked at all the different test-tube things in the science lab, feeling a small amount of disgust as he did so. Sasuke looked curious, but had a similar feeling when Naruto told him that he could have easily become part of something similar by joining Orochimaru. After that, when he looked at them, he couldn't help but see himself in all of the tubes…it was disgusting.

"Captain of the Twelfth division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Vice-captain is his 'daughter', Kurotsuchi Nemu. They aren't here right now so…let's move along!" Kaien said as he quickly hustled the two boys out of the division, obviously discomforted by being in the division.

Naruto was rather pleased to find that the next division was nothing like the twelfth. "This is the haven for all fighters, brawlers, and other such people, the Eleventh division. Captain, Zaraki Kenpachi. Vice-captain, Kusajishi Yachiru. Kenpachi is clinically insane, but he and a lot of the Eleventh division are out Hollow hunting, so we shouldn't have to worry about meeting him yet."

As they were about to leave, a small pink-haired blur suddenly came flying through the corridors and knocked Naruto to the floor. "Ohayo minna! (_Hello everyone_)"

Naruto grunted as he slowly picked himself up. "Um…hi?"

Kaien sighed. "This is Yachiru-fukutaicho. She usually remembers people better by giving them nicknames."

Yachiru nodded. After a moment of looking around, she spotted Sasuke. She tugged on Naruto's yukata. "Hey Kiroi-chan, what's wrong with Chicken Butt Haired Dude?"

Sasuke blinked as he realized that she was talking about him. Before he could say anything, Naruto chuckled. "No Yachiru-chan, it's Kiroi-_kun_. As for Chicken Butt Haired Dude…no one knows what wrong with him."

Kaien had to physically restrain Sasuke from killing Naruto and Yachiru as they bid farewell to each other and moved on to the next division.

The Tenth division was different to say the least. Naruto didn't bother restraining his laughter as he saw a grumbling Hitsugaya Toshiro surrounded by large piles of paperwork. It reminded him so much of how he would find Sarutobi whenever he'd try and visit him. The vice-captain was absent, so after a while they left to go to the next division. Naruto was quite happy to find another person who didn't appreciate people making fun of his size.

Ninth division was even more contrast to the first divisions he'd been too. There was a silent, tense atmosphere. Everyone was either training by themselves, or sparring with each other, but…there wasn't any energy in it. Naruto silently prayed to Kami that he wasn't put in this division; he didn't think that he could handle having to be silent all the time. Plus the captain, Kaname Tousen was way~ too quiet.

Eighth division was a happy contrast to all the other divisions they'd been to. As they walked in, they were greeted by the sight of Ise Nanao bashing Kyouraku Shunsui into the ground with a book, yelling about how he was a captain and needed to act as such. It was kind of funny to see someone else on the receiving end of a woman's wrath, but Naruto couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the man. He was probably too old to break his habits, and if Nanao didn't stop beating him, he was going to have serious brain damage. Sasuke just gave himself a silent reminder not to tick girls off.

Seventh was like Ninth division all over again. The captain, Komamura Sajin, wore huge armor and a helmet, making him look like a giant oversized samurai, and reaked of strictness. The whole division was filled with the same feeling as they bid him farewell. As they left, they also met the vice-captain, Iba Tetsuzaemon. He wore sunglasses and acted really weird. Sasuke resisted the urge to snort when he heard how many curse words he could put into a sentence.

Sixth was a shocker; silence _again_. Although, unlike the other silent divisions the captain, Kuchiki Byakuya actually didn't seem that bad of a guy. A little strict, but overall nice. Naruto swore he'd heard the guys name before, but couldn't place his finger on it. Sasuke just laughed at the dobe's incompetence; this was obviously the guy who'd sent them here in the first place…but he wasn't going to tell him that. Better to let him figure it out for himself.

Fifth was boring. The captain was an okay enough guy; but as they gave a quick greeting, Naruto couldn't help but feel a weird feeling whenever the two of them locked their gazes. From that glance, he could feel that the man seemed to be hiding something. Aizen Sosuke…he'd keep his eyes on him.

Even stranger was the vice captain, someone named Ichimaru Gin. He had this constant smile on his face, and his eyes didn't look like they were going to open any time soon. Unlike Aizen, Naruto clearly felt an immediate dislike for the man, but just pretended to ignore him as they moved on. Sasuke just gave the man a curious look before walking off. It would take too much time to try and understand why Naruto didn't like this guy even if he felt the same way.

Now they headed off to the Forth division, to which Naruto smacked his head. Was _every_ division silent? He was pleased to meet the captain, Unohana Retsu, and the vice-captain Kotetsu Isane. Both of them seemed like really nice people, and even Sasuke couldn't help but politely bow before leaving.

Third division was confusing, seeing as there wasn't a captain or a vice captain around. Naruto and Sasuke both tried to get Kaien to tell them what had happened, but he told them he didn't know himself. All he knew was that one of the former captains had gone insane, and had done something to several of the other captains and vice captains. It was too vague, but enough to satisfy them for the time being.

Second division was next and both the boys couldn't help but palm their faces. The vice-captain was a royally fat pig named Omaeda Marechiyo. Kaien had explained that Second division specialized in assassination and Hakuda, and the only one of those he could see this guy being able to perform was Hakuda…if he could see his opponent from behind his bulk. Sasuke took notice of how he held his sword, noticing that he seemed inclined to keep his hand off it most of the time he talked with them, while other shinigami kept their hands on it when they spoke. For someone of Second division to not be on guard while meeting new people…showed a giant lack of common sense.

When they moved further in the division, they soon entered a room with a futon laid out in the middle of it, with a short woman stilling cross-legged in deep meditation. She was wearing her standard Shinigami captain's uniform; her navy blue hair is worn short with two long braids covered in cloth. She had a calm and cool aura about her, one that tested both Naruto and Sasuke's nerves as they made certain to look her in the eyes. For some reason, they were certain that if they looked anywhere else…their lives would be in jeopardy.

After bowing out, they finally reached their long awaited destination, the First division, where the Sotaicho Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni was waiting for them. His vice-captain was away so his third seat, Sasakibe Chojiro, who led them in front of the General and creator of the thirteen divisions in the Seireitei.

"Ah, Namikaze Narutoand Uchiha Sasuke I presume?" the old man said in a gruff, yet kind manner. Naruto had to hand it to him, he could tell that the old man was really strong, and to keep it like that at such an old age was an impressive feat. It reminded him of the Sandaime Hokage while he was still alive.

Sasuke's entire attitude seemed to completely change in this guy's presence. It was like he was suddenly respectful of the authority and authority that this old man held. He wasn't sure why this change suddenly came over him, but it was kind of like looking at a person who was a combination of Orochimaru and Kakashi; noble, yet ruthless. "It is a pleasure to meet you Yamamoto-sotaicho."

Naruto grinned. "Uh yea, what he said. But could you please call me Uzumaki? It feels so weird being called Namikaze, even if it is my real last name."

Yamamoto chuckled, "I do believe that it won't be a problem. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you as well. Now, I'm sure you are both aware of Naruto's situation as the holder of the Kyuubi no Yoko, are you not?"

Naruto winced, obviously not really ready to share that kind of information with the general public. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, not sure whether he was surprised or relieved. After all, it would explain how Naruto suddenly became so strong during their fight in the Valley of the End. But then, like most people, he'd thought that the Kyuubi had been killed by the Yondaime.

Yamamoto noticed the strange change in both their attitudes. "I'm sorry Naruto; I didn't realize that the Sandaime hadn't told anyone of the truth. I will have to speak with him as soon as I can." Noticing both their confused looks, he quickly explained. "I was the one who was summoned to pull the soul of the Kyuubi, as well as Orochimaru's arms, out of them. Your Yondaime is currently sealed away in Level 8 until he's finished recovering from being in contact with Kyuubi's soul. On the other hand, your Sandaime should be coming out of Level 2 soon; it took a lot less out of me to take two arms than it was to take a whole soul…a demons soul no less."

Nauto nodded, understanding a little better; Sasuke was probably more confused than he'd ever been in his life; and Kaien was staring at with something akin to awe. He'd heard of the Kyuubi…everyone in the Seireitei had heard of him. However, by the disturbed looks on their faces, he was sure that they didn't know its entire history. It would be quite funny to see their reactions when they heard it.

Yamamoto continued. "Now, let's discuss you're new duties. You both are quite lucky, considering your previous circumstances should have mutated both of your souls into Hollows; but, even if by mere luck, both of your souls appear to have come out more or less unharmed. However, that is no reason for either of you to skip our ten-year course in the shinigami academy."

Naruto groaned as he remembered what Kaien had told them as they'd been coming to the First division. He'd failed the shinobi academy three times while he was alive; how was the shinigami academy supposed to be different. Sasuke seemed to share his resentment as he scowled at Yamamoto. He was an Uchiha, one who could be considered the closest thing to royalty in the Elemental…

Sasuke groaned inwardly and shook his head. He wasn't in the Elemental Countries anymore, and he didn't have the Sharingan or his clan to back him up. In this world, he was as good as worthless; sure he had reiatsu, but he really didn't have the skill to use it at the moment. And with no clan history in this place, he would be at around the same level as would be; nothing more than a common person. But…to see things from 's eyes might be a change in things; maybe even show him how it was that had become powerful, Kyuubi or no Kyuubi.

"You will find that during this process, you will learn all kinds of Kido, Hakuda…"

Naruto raised his hand. "Um, Kaien-san already told us all the things that would be covered in the academy."

Kaien suddenly stood ramrod straight. No one interrupted the Sotaicho when he was telling them anything, period. He gave Yamamoto an apologetic glance as he turned to lightly glare at him.

Yamamoto just smiled. "I see…then that means that I'll have less to discuss to you."

Kaien let out a small sigh of relief. They weren't going to be in trouble. That was the last thing he needed seeing as he didn't have many chances to become a vice-captain. Plus, if he didn't get the position, he'd probably get sent out to the real world again; meaning less time with his wife. And that was something he really didn't want.

Yamamoto chuckled once again, "Uzumaki, Uchiha, let it be known that I expect you two to pass this course with flying colors. I shall see you in ten years time. Good day and good luck."

**Dorm Rooms**

"Ok…you mean to tell me that I'll be living with someone who I've probably never met before, and I'll have to get along with him for the next ten years? Who chose the room setting?" Naruto said in a deadpanned tone. While he wasn't against meeting new people, he really wanted to be with _someone_ he knew. And since most of the people he knew were still alive, other than Sasuke, there wasn't much chance of that happening.

Kaien chuckled, "Don't worry, Nanao choose the room settings so that they wouldn't have people of similar genders in the same room. Now, if it was Yachiru-fukutaicho that picked the lots, it would all be pure luck who you got. Don't worry; it won't be as bad as you think it'll be."

Naruto scoffed, "Easy for you to say, you're already out of the academy and in the field. I'm not saying that I won't survive, just that it'll be a lot harder to make new friends here…I'm sure of it. By the way, thanks for wasting a whole day with me and Sasuke. It was really fun."

Kaien chuckled. "Well I must say, if you're worried about making friends, don't. I mean, you probably already made a friend today, even if you didn't know it."

Naruto looked up at Kaien. "Would you consider us friends?"

Kaien blinked. Then, after a couple of seconds, he grinned. "Sure, we're friends."

Naruto grinned. "Then you'd better promise me that the next time I see you, you're the vice-captain of the Thirteenth division, and show me a few more totally awesome techniques that you've learned!"

Kaien nodded. "Hey, tell you what. If you can get good grades for the next five years, I'll teach you the basics of Shunpo (_Flash Step_)."

Naruto blinked. "Shunpo? What's that?"

Kaien grinned. "It's a technique that only vice-captains and captains are supposed to know. It's basically a much faster version of the Hoho. I shouldn't teach it to you…but then I'm sure that it's not too much trouble to give a friend a few pointers on a technique he's already learning."

Naruto's mouth hung open, dumbfounded. He couldn't tell what he was feeling…it was something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Even with his other 'sensei's', he hadn't felt like this. Kaien…was truly a friend. So, he did the only thing that he felt would adequately express his feelings. He tackle-hugged Kaien, knocking the unsuspecting man onto his back.

Kaien just patted him on the back, not really understanding how much he'd impacted the young boy's life. After a couple of moments, got up, wiping away a few tears that were streaming down his face as he accepted the key to his dorm.

After Kaien disappeared around the corner, Naruto took a deep breath. He turned back to his room and stared at the door. Room 132. The room that would be the start of his future 'life', and maybe even his ascension to a better place.

Grinning in a feral manner, he quickly unlocked the door and walked into the room.

As he stepped into the room, he froze, feeling a sudden dread and elation fill him. For there, sitting on the other side of the room, was Uchiha Sasuke. For a moment, there was a long silence, neither of them wanting to say anything as they locked eyes.

Then, finally, Sasuke spoke up. "I see we're roommates."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Yep…I guess we are."

A pause.

Then, "I already called the far side of the room." Sasuke said, sounding like he'd somehow won the lottery.

Naruto just smirked. "Oh really? What gave you that right?"

"You were late, and I got here first. So I get the far side."

"Oh no you don't. We're going to settle this like men!" Naruto yelled, holding his fist out in front of himself.

"You want to go?" Sasuke asked, getting to his feet and getting into a similar position as .

"Bring it!" Naruto yelled as they began to shake their fists.

"Jan, ken, poi! (_Paper, rock, scissors_)"

Naruto threw out 'rock', while Sasuke threw out 'paper'. "Look, that way!" Sasuke yelled, pointing up.

Naruto quickly looked down, causing them to go back to their game. They continued this for the rest of the night, neither of them gaining ground till Sasuke finally managed to win, and settled the matter. Naruto pouted for a while before his mind began to whirl once again. He may have been in a new environment, but that didn't mean that he was giving up old habits. Oh no, tomorrow, people would have to watch what they did; because if he caught them, they would be on the receiving end of the world famous, 'Prankster Prince'.

Naruto's grin widened as he began to fall asleep. "Yep, this life is going to be totally awesome." He muttered as he finally began to slip away into a blissful sleep.

A/N: Huzzah! I have finished my second chapter!

Just so you people know, I'm not planning on abandoning this fic! However, I appreciate your concern.

Now, here are the current pairing suggestions:

**Naruto:**

Hinamori: 2

Unohana: 2

Nemu: 1

**Sasuke:**

Hinamori: 1

Soifon: 1

Isane: 1

Matsumoto: 1

Well, this isn't very conclusive is it? I do like the Sasuke/Hinamori possibility, like Naruto/Hinata, only with Sasuke. I do hope to get more people to vote for this particular pairing. :D

For Naruto, how do you people thing Unohana or Nemu would work? If you have any ideas, let me know!

Also, thank you for not asking for a Harem. I'm not good at thinking up stuff like that, and I'd probably lose track of who all would be in it...so many the best girl win!

Naruto's zanpakuto's name is currently set, but I'm still working on what type and abilities it has, as well as Sasuke's zanpakuto. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Finally, REVIEW! It helps encourage me to type faster.

Thank you!

Draco Kamikaze


	3. Chapter 3

Just to make sure that everyone understands, this is in fact a _fanfiction_, and as such I'm allowed to make certain rules. Naruto will not be in the same class as Rukia, Hinamori, and Renji; he and Sasuke are actually around twenty years before them, and seventy years before cannon starts. Also, Toshiro is allowed to be captain because I said so, he got training early; so what? Anyways, on with the show!

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

_"Zanpakuto speech"_

**Scene Change**

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens****  
**_By: Draco Kamikaze_

When Naruto and Sasuke first entered the academy, neither of them were prepared for what they would go through. In all essence, it was almost exactly like the shinobi academy. This meant that Sasuke was able to follow the work quite easily; whereas Naruto found himself struggling through the written materials. What could he say? He just couldn't retain any of the information from those classes.

Surprisingly, they were both at the top of their practical classes where they actually preformed the techniques that were being discussed in the other classes. This was a relief for Naruto, because it mean that he didn't have to worry about whether or not he should mold his reiatsu one way or another; he just had to get a good enough result to pass. And that, was something that he found he was quite good at.

As time went on, throughout the entire academy, word was beginning to spread about a new prodigy unlike anyone they'd ever seen. A guy who the girls adored, and the guys envied. He was strong and smart, yet playful and (unknowingly) flirtatious. He made things further difficult for himself as he tried time and time again to avoid or reject their approaches; despite the fact that he told them he honestly wasn't playing 'hard to get'. This was the unfortunate second life of Uchiha Sasuke.

Just like in the living world, Sasuke tried to avoid the girl's affections to better study his work. However, he wanted to try a different version of Naruto's child-like behaviors to try and see if they would avoid him like they did Naruto in the living world. Unfortunately, the modifications were too good, and his child-like behaviors were seen more as cute rather than appalling. And he was not going to give in to Naruto's suggestions of publicly saying that he was gay, or that he already had a girlfriend. He just didn't want to lie to them one way or another, and it would be quite humiliating to even think of the first.

He couldn't help the fact that girls seemed to flock to him wherever he went; even he didn't know how he did it. He soon found that many of the guys respected him for being able to hold his own against the hordes of girls that attempted to subdue him. After a while, he finally became friends with two guys who were in their fifth year; Ikkaku and Yumichika. They believed that they were set for the Eleventh Division, and were more than happy to fight with Sasuke during Hakuda and Zanjutsu seeing as everyone, other than Naruto, was scared to fight against the prodigy.

On the other hand, Naruto had his own little following of girls slowly chasing him. However, unlike in the living world, he acted a little more mature around the women which seemed to earn him more admirers. He even was able too take a few of the girls on dates. This meant that the girls didn't have to fight each other for his affections, and he was able to have a lot of fun dates with a lot of different s. Some guys would say that he was a 'player', but he would constantly deny it as it wasn't true in the slightest. However, if he were called a 'flirt'…now how was he to deny that? After all, it was quite true, and even the girls would tell him that on their dates.

Naruto also found that he had a gift for listening to people. This usually meant that if the girls had any troubles, they could be found talking to Naruto. Just talking usually seemed to help them get over whatever it was and made many of the other guys jealous when they'd hug him…or give him a kiss on the cheek before running off. Sasuke didn't really care when they were outside of their room, but if one listened closely, they could hear both Naruto and Sasuke laughing at the memory of the guys faces before they went to bed.

Some of the other guys soon began to swarm Naruto, trying to understand how he could get so many girls to go out with him while they would just get a rejection for even looking at them. When some of they less bold guys would ask them what he said, they would just laugh and tell them that he knew stuff that was so advanced that some captains didn't know it.

In reality, he'd just shrug and said, "You know guys…it's just what I do."

He also became friends with a few other people; Hanataro and a guy named Sora being a just a few he could name. Hanataro quickly becoming someone who he could rely on as he was obviously zoned to be in Fourth division. Whenever he and Sasuke would fight, Hanataro would be on standby, waiting for it to end so that he could practice his medical Kido on them. In return, Naruto was trying to help him with Hakuda so that he wouldn't be defenseless against a Hollow should some blockhead from the Eleventh division decided that helping guard him wasn't as fun as cleansing Hollows and deserted him. He'd heard way too many stories to just let his friend go into a fight without any way of fighting back.

Currently, they'd gotten through the first two years of the academy without too much trouble…other than the trouble that Naruto would bring on himself by pulling many pranks. Having all those girls meant that he heard about a lot of guys who would pick on them for this and that, as well as being able to listen to all the local gossip to find out other things. Once, he'd facepalmed as he realized that most women would be the worst kind of spy network ever with they way they openly shared their secrets.

The people he heard about would eventually find themselves in very…peculiar positions. One guy even had to come into class with a pink yukata that had light blue butterflies all over it. When asked why he was wearing such a peculiar outfit, he told the teacher that all of his clothes were in that condition and he swore that it wasn't a practical joke he was trying to pull on him. He then had to sit through the entire class like that, with most of the guys trying console him while the girls talked about how pretty he looked. He was both ashamed, and embarrassed. While he'd sworn to take revenge on the person who did it, no one ever figured out how Naruto was able to do it.

Of course, that was a prank that was named the 'Level One Punishment'. This usually happened because the person said a rude comment to one of the girls, or to an Eleventh division hopeful who picked on a Forth division hopeful. However, should there be something of a higher offense, meaning that they take it too far; they find themselves faced with a 'Level Two Punishment'. And when that happened, everyone knew what was happening as mini explosions went off from around the person's room.

It was actually very simple. By molding his reiatsu into thin little strings all around the person's room using Bakudo, he then sent different Hado's through the string and knocked on the door. When the person walked out, they tripped over the strings and found themselves having to rebound away from all kinds of different Kido as the oncoming destruction ensued. No one, no one, got away unharmed…unless Naruto was using it for training. Then he wouldn't take the time for the complex Hado's, and would use most of the simpler ones. It was only because he practiced it that he was ever implied into the different destructions that happened to several different people.

Sasuke had raised an eyebrow at this technique. To think that Naruto would waste so much reiatsu just to set up a trap that didn't even have a high chance of actually hitting confused him for a while…until he realized that the trap was simply for fun, rather than for battle. And considering the fact that it didn't endanger anyone, he figured he could live with it, after all, it wouldn't do to destroy them before their careers, and the real danger, began.

As time had gone on, due to how boring things had been for the two of them, they'd eventually come up with a rather fun game to play afterwards. They called it, stealth. By taking many every day things they used to do while they were alive, they'd eventually created a game where the two of them could hone their skills in speed, stealth, and Hakuda. Since they didn't have their zanpakuto's yet, they decided to make it a rule that they could only use Hakuda. The point of the game was to take the other person's 'life', which was a red slip of paper located on the person's back. Once the tag was taken, they were out…or 'dead', which ever way you wanted to see it.

After a while, they began to get a little bored of the game seeing as they couldn't play it by themselves forever. As such, they began to look throughout their classmates and create their own teams to try and defeat each other. That's when the games got really interesting as you had to watch you back more often than in a one-on-one fight.

Naruto glanced around. He knew that with his group of eighteen people, including himself, he didn't have nearly as many people as Sasuke did. Plus, with Ikkaku and Yumichika, his group was going to have a hard time. Closing his eyes, he thought up a quick 'plan' that might actually work.

His team sat back, watching as Naruto surveyed the area. Most of the people in his group were people who'd played the game on more than one occasion, and understood how Naruto did things; with absolutely no forethought. It was actually more fun to fight on Naruto's side, even if Sasuke's was always more organized and planned out than theirs. After all, when else would your captain trust you enough to let you do whatever you feel like to get the job done?

Naruto slowly turned to his group. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're going to split into two groups. Sora and I will be the team leaders, with at least one medic one each team. I'll take them down to the lower portion of the valley to draw Sasuke and his team into a trap. Sora, you'd better make sure to get them before they hit us too hard."

Sora grinned. "Don't worry! I'll make sure that they don't even know what hit them. Come on guys!" He jumped off into the trees, half the team quickly following him.

Naruto chuckled. Sora was very much like he was, only with dark red hair, and more skill in Kido than he had. He looked to be around fifteen years old, but when Naruto had asked, he'd told him he was closer to one hundred years old. Scary.

Naruto turned back to his group. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're going to move in a standard three line formation. I'll take center as it's the best place for me to get everywhere at once to help you guys. Hanataro, I want you behind me; no need to give them a clear target, neh? Everyone else, form up!"

The eight other people in his group scrambled forward, quickly forming the formation. Naruto's plan only gave them one shot at hitting the other team hard, and if the second group didn't do their job, they weren't going to last. Sasuke had made sure that he had plenty of members who were more than able to take a hit and dish it right back out.

But Naruto wasn't their leader for nothing. He knew Sasuke better than anyone else, as well as what he would do if he were caught in a movement like this. So as they moved, he quickly thought out what they would do once they had both Sasuke and his team in sight.

After only a couple of moments, they found themselves in the clearing. Naruto stopped, glancing in all directions. He couldn't see through the dense foliage, but he was sure that Sasuke was around…somewhere.

"Hanataro, can you tell where they are at?" Naruto asked, his eyes darting about as he tried to figure out where they were.

Hanataro glanced around. "Um…I think…that way?" He said, pointing to the left.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to feel in that direction. As he did, an animalistic grin suddenly began to cross his face. "Let the games begin." Snapping his eyes open, he quickly shouted, "Scatter!"

The moment he issued the command, his group quickly began to rush about. In the same moment, members of Sasuke's group began to fall out of the trees. They quickly realized that their ambush had failed, and they would have to fight them. For the Eleventh member hopefuls, it was the perfect for them, as it was a chance for them to crush their competition.

"Take down anyone who gets in your way!" Naruto yelled as he aimed himself at one of the guys.

He ducked under a wild swing and slammed his right hand into his stomach. Reaching out, he quickly yanked the tag off the guys back. He then wrapped his right leg around the guys, and slammed him forward. He never had a chance as he was slammed onto his back.

Naruto grinned as he watched his group fight. They were actually doing fairly well; even Hanataro was managing to throw some of them around. He laughed lightly as he quickly slammed into another guys back, ripping his tag off. This was way too easy.

…it was too easy. Naruto stopped as he realized that things were going too smoothly for things to really be going right. After all, Yumichika usually fought against Hanataro to prove that the clumsy teen wasn't as 'pretty' as he was. And Sasuke always made sure that he fought either Naruto or Sora.

Naruto whirled around, realization on his face. Seeing that his team was handling the group quite well, he grimaced. Leave it to Sasuke to think of the hardest decisions for him to make. Closing his eyes, he tried to figure out how he could handle the situation. He could abandon his group, heading off to help Sora's group. Or he could finish up here, and hope that Sora could hold his own.

His eyes snapped open. He'd left Sora in charge because he knew that he could hold his own. So if he got caught by Sasuke, he'd do everything he could to take him down.

With a loud battle cry, Naruto slammed into another member of the ambush team. Their numbers were quickly going down, and Naruto couldn't help but laugh again as he fought. It was fun, simple as that.

As they finished up the last of the members, someone began a slow, sarcastic clapping. "Bravo…I'm surprised you handled this as well as you did."

Naruto craned his neck around, a grin still plastered on his face. "So what Sasuke? I've always had a team that can fight well together."

Sasuke chuckled. "That you may, but you seem to be missing a few members. Care to enlighten us?"

Naruto just shrugged. "You know how I do things; even I don't know how things are going to work out."

Sasuke sighed. "Still as unpredictable as ever."

Naruto grinned. "You bet I am. Come on guys, let's go! Spike shape formation!"

Naruto's team quickly formed around him, forming a large V with Naruto as the point. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as they began their charge. Just as he was about to issue his own command, another voice rang out. "The cavalry has arrived!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Sora and the rest of the group suddenly slammed into the side of his team. At the same moment, Naruto and his team hit the front of his group, tearing through toward Sora's group. Within moments, every one of his members had their tags ripped of besides his own, Ikkaku's and Yumichika's. Sasuke glanced between the members of Naruto's group, mentally counting the members. Finally, realizing that there was no way that he, Ikkaku and Yumichika could take on ten people at once, he held up his hands in surrender. Realizing that they too couldn't do anything, Ikkaku and Yumichika also held up their hands in surrender; albeit, much more reluctantly than Sasuke.

Naruto and his team gave a loud cheer as they quickly celebrated their victory against Sasuke's team. They'd done it before, but somehow it always felt like the first time whenever Naruto was with them. Like his energy was constantly bringing in a positive energy, that brought them closer. Like his last name was an actual trait, having an inner energy that was constantly pulling others in. That was what made Naruto a great team leader.

**Later**

Naruto and Sasuke lay back in the grass, both of them enjoying the silence that was around them. It was something they did every day; just taking a moment or two of silence to review whatever they were thinking about. It helped calm their nerves, as well as brought our any concerns that they might have had about their previous life.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sasuke said, rolling onto his side to look at Naruto.

Naruto turned his head. "Hm?"

"Why do you think we can't perform any jutsu outside the Chidori and the Rasengan?"

Naruto looked back up into the sky, quietly thinking about the question. He himself had asked it on more than one occasion, but neither of them could come up with a reasonable answer. They just couldn't seem to think of anything that would satisfy their confusion.

Naruto sighed. "Well, I don't know…maybe we just can't use any of our other jutsu."

Sasuke shook his head. "I know, but that doesn't make sense. If we're able to perform one jutsu, we should be able to perform more than one. I should be able to perform my Katon techniques."

Naruto nodded. "I know…but I can't give you a reason as to why you can't. I mean, it would be awesome if you could, or if you could teach me, but there's just some mental block that we just can't overcome."

Sasuke rolled onto his back. "I know, but I would still like some closure."

Naruto nodded. Ever since they'd found that they could perform the Rasengan and the Chidori, they'd been trying everything they could to recreate other techniques. But for some reason, it was like trying to look left and right at the same time; without someone else to help them, they were stuck. After all, Kido was a cinch to perform compared to the normal jutsu, which meant that the jutsu were probably stronger. And they were able to manipulate their reiatsu easier than…their…chakra…

Naruto suddenly bolted up. "I've got it!"

Sasuke propped himself up. "Uh…what are you talking –?"

"I know why we can't perform jutsu!" Naruto said, a small fire in his eyes as he glanced over to Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked confused. _Did the dobe think of something that I haven't? What could he know?_ He grinned. "What do you know?"

Naruto grinned, opening his mouth to speak. Then, he stopped. _I don't have to tell him…yet. It'll be fun to see him try and figure it out._ He turned away, a playful smirk on his face. "I'm not telling you."

Silence.

Then, "NARUTO I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" Sasuke yelled as he attempted to tackle at Naruto.

Naruto dodged to the side, playfully laughing as he ran away. "Catch me if you can!"

They ran around the field; Naruto playfully laughing as he led Sasuke on, while Sasuke was obviously trying to kill him with his bare hands. Unknown to either of them, two shadows were watching them; one looking on curiously, while the other had an almost hungry, ful glare.

_Things will definitely be interesting around here…I'm sure of it._ The second shadow thought as it slowly melded deeper into the shadows.

**Next Day – Halfway Through History**

Naruto tried not to bang his head against the table. They were going over the history of the Seireitei, and as always, it felt like they weren't getting anywhere. Just going over the Quincy history, the construction of the shinigami academy, and other such things could only entertain him for so long. Today probably wouldn't be any different. The teacher would walk in, smiling, and tell them that they were going to do something new.

A moment later, "Alright class, it's time for something new."

"Great." Naruto moaned, gently placing his head on the desk. She was now going to say that it was some kind of history lesson that they'd groan about.

"Today, we're going to explain the Nine Levels of Hell."

Naruto's head shot up. Okay…I wasn't expecting that.

As he glanced around, most of the other kids seemed to be a lot more excited. Apparently, this was a big topic that they were going to be talking about; no one wanted to miss it.

The teacher smiled. "The Nine Levels of Hell were originally designed to contain Hollow souls that had been purified and help them become normal souls again. Each level shows how progressively bad a person was. It took longer to finish purifying in the Ninth level, than it was in the First."

Sasuke raised his hand. "Um, why are you speaking in past tense?"

"That's a good question." The teacher said, smiling lightly as she went on. "The Nine Levels of Hell still exist; however we have no idea what goes on down there anymore."

A random kid in the class spoke up. "Why don't we?"

"Because each level was guarded by its own guardian. These guardians prevented the Hollows from leaving to the Rukongai. However, after an undisclosed amount of time, the overexposure to Hell's reiatsu, they lost conscious thought and went berserk."

"So, if we go to Hueco Mundo, we won't survive?"

The teacher shook her head; obviously flustered by how many kids were suddenly questioning her on things that she was having a hard time with. "No, the Hueco Mundo is filled with Hollow reiatsu, which is technically partially negative reiatsu; due to the fact that it is driven by the negative emotions, and intentions of their…minds. You wouldn't die from overexposure to it. However, Hell's reiatsu is different. It is like Hollow reiatsu, but being a compilation of only negative energy and emotions, it is a thousand times more potent."

There was a wide spread chatting as people seemed surprised by this. Naruto however, was in a state of shock. After a couple of seconds, he slowly raised his hand. "Sensei, what happened to those guardians?"

The class fell silent at the question, turning towards their teacher. "Um…I'm not sure. However, there were rumors of where they had ended up. They call the place, the Between. It was supposed to be where they rested, taking a moment before coming out and destroying the world around them. Obviously, they're probably not alive, seeing as they haven't come out in over one thousand years or so."

At those words, Naruto's ran cold. He tried to piece what he'd heard together to something he could understand. As he did, realization dawned on him. He'd figured out who the guardians were, and where they'd gone off to. He almost passed out from an overload of information, and had to take a couple of breaths to steady himself. He leaned back in his chair, slowly going over what he believed he'd heard.

If what he'd realized was true, then it would explain so much of what had happened to him while he'd been in the Seireitei. He just needed to better understand some of these things if he was going to use the knowledge correctly.

Suddenly, a piece of chalk suddenly slammed into his head. "Uzumaki! Did you hear what I said?"

Naruto shook his head. "Um…could you repeat the question?"

The teacher sighed. "Will you please report to the Sotaicho? He wishes to see you."

Naruto blinked. "The Sotaicho? He wants to see me?"

"Yes, now get a move on! Don't leave Kaien-fukutaicho waiting!" The teacher yelled, pointing towards the door. She didn't have to ask twice as Naruto bolted out the door, a smile on his face. After a couple of seconds, she turned back to the class. "Alright, now as I was saying…"

Sasuke groaned as he listened to the teacher. That dobe has no idea how lucky he is…this is so~ boring! I mean, even Sakura ranting about how good my hair looked was more interesting! Lucky freaking dobe.

**Konohagakure**

"ACHOO!!!"

"Bless you Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded, a little shaken by her sneeze. After a second, she leaned back against a tree. "Thank you Lee."

"I think someone is talking about you!" Tenten said, a smile on her face as she nuzzled into Neji's chest. The four of them were sitting in the shade of a couple of trees. Tenten was snuggled into Neji's chest, while Lee was sitting next to Sakura. Lee had finally convinced her to go out with him, though at a great cost for himself. However, he didn't regret a moment of it. However, who else shown with such exuberant youthfulness as his beloved Sakura?

Sakura shook her head. "Why would anyone other than you guys talk about me?"

"Maybe…THEY WERE SPEAKING OF YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!!!" Lee yelled, his eyes on fire as he punched a fist into the air.

The air suddenly became cold as Sakura glared at Lee. "Lee…what have we talked about?"

Lee gulped. "Uh…less yelling, less over indulging in training, more attention to you?"

Sakura slowly returned to her normal, cheerful self. "That's right Lee. Now would you please be a dear, and get me something to drink? And yes, you can make a goal this time."

Lee's eyes sparkled. "Yosh! I will get you a drink in less than ten minutes! If I cannot, I will do one hundred push-ups consecutively! And…"

"That's enough Lee." Sakura said as she pulled out a stopwatch. "Go!"

As the three watched Lee run off, Neji glanced at Sakura. "You know, we tried for years to train him to do stuff like that. How did you do it?"

Sakura shrugged. "I just encouraged him…with my fists."

Neji shuddered as he remembered her massive strength. Yes, that would be an excellent incentive to change a few things.

**Seireitei**

"ACHOO!!!"

"I think someone's talking about you Naruto!"

"Shut up Kaien, it's not funny!" Naruto mumbled as he strolled through the street of the Seireitei on his way to the Sotaicho. After a moment, he glanced up at Kaien. "Uh…do you have any idea what I'm being called for? 'Cause, if it's anything to do with what happened to Jio, he had it coming! I mean, do you even know what -?"

Kaien shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that the Sotaicho isn't really concerned in trivial matters as to call you out of class."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Oh."

A mischievous grin quickly crossed Kaien's face. "On the other hand, I would like to know what you did to this guy."

Naruto shrugged. "It wasn't much. I simply used a combination of Bakudo 1 and 9 to prevent him from getting anywhere. Then, once I'd done that, I used a fusion Hado 1 and 4 to knock him up face first against a wall and make his hair stand up. After that, it was a simple matter of several different colors to give him very…pretty hair. It made it easier to convince Yachiru-fukutaicho to show no mercy when she visited us."

Kaien shuddered. While it was quite childish to do such things, it was also too complicated to perform for your average academy student. He'd used two spells as a fusion, which was much to advanced for someone his age to perform. And for two Hado at the same time…that was twice as difficult.

After a moment of silence, he glanced over at Naruto. "Uh…what exactly did he do?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't remember. I think he was picking on Hanataro…again. Luckily, he doesn't do that anymore."

"You're quite the vigilante; seeking justice for people who can't fight for themselves…not sure what to say to that."

Naruto smirked. "Can't fight back? Please, Hanataro's more than able to crush guys like him without breaking a sweat… he's thrown me around on more than one occasion. It just kills his confidence when he's belittled by someone. I'm trying to break that, but it's a lot harder than it looks."

Kaien looked forward again, trying to figure out what to say about that. When they'd first met, he'd been so sure that Naruto was the sort of person to help others up when they were down, and not take anything from anyone. But as he'd come to know him, he was starting to notice other things. Naruto tried his best at everything he did; he could do stuff off the top of his head better than most of the other stuff others did; he was more loyal than anyone else he'd ever met; and he had power that was growing at an exponential rate. He couldn't figure out why, but there was something about Naruto that seemed to draw people in…like people couldn't stay away from him.

After a couple of seconds, he realized Naruto was still talking. "…plus, with all the girls that he's got, you'd think he'd just pick one and move on!" Naruto practically yelled, grabbing his head.

Kaien blinked. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what he was talking about, and that it was not a good idea for anyone to come into Naruto's conversations without any idea about what he was saying.

Naruto waved his hand in front of Kaien's face. "Hello~, anyone there?"

Kaien shook his head. "Uh, yea."

Naruto grinned. "Good, because I'm pretty sure that I'm not allowed to knock."

Kaien was confused for a moment, until he finally realized that Naruto was referring to the fact that they were currently outside of the First Division. He glanced at Naruto, chuckling nervously. Well, that's embarrassing.

As they walked into the room, Yamamoto glanced up, several large folders in his hands. "Ah, Naruto. I'm glad you could make it here on such short notice."

Naruto shrugged. "It's alright; I was just in the middle of history class. You know, you guys should update the curriculum, the stuff we're learning is so boring."

Yamamoto chuckled. "Yes, I'm quite sure that with you hands on way of doing things it would be quite boring." After a second, he held out one of the folders to Naruto. "There's something that required your help. If you could?"

Naruto nodded, taking the folder from Yamamoto. He opened it, trying to figure out what was so important that he needed to be called here. As soon as he saw what was in it though, he needed a lot more explaining. "Uh…why do you have information on Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru is just one of a few people we know quite a bit about." Yamamoto said, showing that he had quite a few folders that were obviously on other people. "We're simply concerned by what he can do, and how far he's trying to reach into our society. We need you to try and confirm as much as possible on him so that we can be prepared for when he dies."

Naruto shook his head, confused. "Why do you want to know more about him for when he dies?"

"Because he perfected a technique that allowed him to live 'forever'; by inhabiting the bodies of other people. This means that when he dies, there is a high possibility of him becoming a Hollow. We simply need to know what to expect before confronting him. Now please, what do you know about him?"

Naruto shook his head. "I…I don't know. I mean, I could tell you a few things, but I'm sure that they wouldn't be as useful to you as someone who actually worked for him. Heck, even Sasuke might be better."

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded. "Yea, he was marked by Orochimaru with a strange seal. It happened in the Forest of , right after I passed out. I didn't find out about it till I fought him in the Valley of the End, where we died. The seal was like…three little comas spinning in a circle. And when Sasuke was completely covered by the 'flames' he turned into this, ugly, bird-like thing."

"The cursed seal of heaven?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, I wouldn't know the exact terms that Orochimaru used…or why he wanted Sasuke so bad. All I know is that he was up to no good…and he's a very, very greedy guy. Freaking snake."

Yamamoto bowed his head, thinking over what Naruto had told him. "I see. What you've said will be put into consideration. Thank you for your time….and do try to prepare for you history exam."

"What exam?" Naruto asked, looking somewhat confused as Yamamoto gathered his folders and walked away. "WHAT EXAM!?!"

Kaien just sighed. "Even when it's told to his face, he doesn't completely see it." He glanced over at Naruto, who was trying to figure out what had happened and grinned. "I wouldn't want him any other way."

**Hospital**

"He didn't know anything…just like you said." Yamamoto said, sitting next to a hospital bed. The person in the bed was covered by bandages, so people couldn't see who it was. It also muffled his voice slightly, making it more difficult for other people to hear what he was saying.

"You see Yamamoto-san; I do know more about Naruto than you think."

"Yes, you do." Yamamoto said, tapping his staff on the floor. "However, I'm more interested in the information about Orochimaru…and his seals."

The man sighed. "It's rather simple. The seal draws on an inner energy that makes a person much, much stronger than they would normally be. Each seal draws on a certain negative emotion, forcing the person to become consumed by that emotion."

"So…in other words, it draws out on of that energy?" Yamamoto asked, glancing at the ceiling.

"Yes. This usually makes stronger Hollows in the afterlife, but from what you've told me, Sasuke didn't turn into a Hollow, or hasn't yet. I'm not sure why, or how, but there is definitely something we're missing about him."

Yamamoto nodded. "Yes, I'm sure that we are. However, we are not going to bother ourselves until we absolutely have to." After a moments silence, he glanced back at the man. "How are you feeling?"

The man chuckled. "Well, normally that's the first thing a person asks when walking into a sick persons room."

"I was trying to get the business portion done before, so that you would be relaxed when I left. It wouldn't do for you to continue to deteriorate in health."

"No, we don't need that. Thank you for your concern. I am doing rather well, despite the mild discomfort that's come from having that kind of treatment."

Yamamoto's head lowered ever so slightly, almost looking ashamed. "I don't believe that it was intentional. However, it would be good to see you in good health soon."

The man chuckled. "I know. Please, give my regards to them…will you?"

Yamamoto stood up. "Yes, I'll make sure to do that. Please, have a good day."

Giving the man a small bow, Yamamoto quickly walked out of his room. After a moment, the man chuckled again. "So…Naruto and Sasuke both managed to get here? I would never have guessed it. I guess that explains the explosions that I've been hearing… and his pranks. I just hope no one's been hurt by them."

**Kido Room**

BOOM

"Holy crap, that was big!" Naruto said, grinning widely as he looked at the damage caused by his Kido.

Everyone else in the classroom gapped at the size of the destruction. It was…huge. The entire wall behind their required target was completely blown away, leaving very little behind. For someone to take a small Kido that was supposed to be more accurate than anything else, and turn it into something of mass destruction…was simply amazing.

Sasuke chuckled. He'd seen Naruto do so much more destruction with smaller Kido, and less reiatsu. But he knew that Naruto just wanted to show off a little bit. He couldn't do it with his studies, so he did it in Hado, Hakuda, and Zanjutsu. He himself was better at Bakudo, Hakuda, and Zanjutsu…but Naruto was just a brute when fighting that made him harder to beat.

_"He's strong, isn't he?"_

Sasuke mentally nodded, not quite sure of what had been happening. He'd just woken up one morning, and this strange voice was speaking to him. It held so much power behind it, that he was somewhat frightened at first. But, after a while, he'd managed to get used to the little comments that it would make about Naruto or school life.

Sasuke sighed. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was supposed to be a good thing. After all, a few people actually made contact with their zanpakuto spirits before they'd even gotten their zanpakuto…like that midget Toshiro. He'd managed to hear his, and quickly became captain. He slightly hoped he could do the same, but…

_"Only time will tell."_

Sasuke smiled. It had a bad habit of completing his thoughts, even if he wasn't directing them at it. But, it was nice to know that someone understood him so well.

As he watched Naruto getting praise from the other kids and a few of the teachers, he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but he felt slightly jealous of Naruto. Everyone was around him, trying to talk to him, trying to be _like_ him. He had similar things happen to him back in the shinobi academy, and so he understood what was happening. However, he'd rejected everyone, so he had no idea what Naruto was really feeling right now. It had too feel pretty good considering how large his smile was.

_"There is no need to feel envy for what you could have had. Look forward to now, any you will succeed."_

Sasuke nodded. It was weird to be getting advice from someone within himself, but who else knew him as well? And the advice was actually starting to make his life easier to live through.

"Hey Sasuke! Come over here!" Naruto yelled, pulling him from his thoughts.

Sasuke glanced up, seeing Naruto and the rest of his classmates staring at him. After a couple of seconds, he smirked.

**Undisclosed Location**

"How is our progress?" Pein asked, glaring at the projections of the other members of the Akatsuki.

Kakuzu spoke first. "We've managed to kill the Sanbi, Gobi, and Shichibi; basically the ones who haven't been sealed yet."

Pein nodded. "And how are we progressing there?"

Hidan suddenly spoke. "Why do you want to know you -?!"

"Hidan, please be respectful." Itachi said, glaring towards him. After a couple of seconds, as Hidan began to mumble something about Jashin, he turned back to Pein. "We've already sent Sasori and Deidara to kill the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi, and Hidan and Kakuzu will be going after the Nibi as soon as possible."

"Why are you volenteering us for this assignment?" Kakuzu asked.

Itachi glanced at him. "There is a chance that after the Nibi is killed, you will be able to give her body for a rather large bounty. After all, she's managed to make quite the name for herself."

Kakuzu nodded, an almost ful grin crossing his face. "I see...thank you Itachi. I do believe that this will be most benificial."

Pein sighed. "Itachi, what is the status of Orochimaru's lair?"

"We've come a long way. We've talked with Sasori, and he told us that he has a spy within Orochimaru's ranks. He's planning on meeting him in three weeks or so to obtain any infromation that he can before we attack Orochimaru."

Pein nodded. "Excellent."

Itachi nodded. "Indeed. However, not to be the judge of Sasori's sealing technique, but I do believe that Orochimaru will be at the meeting place."

Pein raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you say that?"

"He is no fool. He needs to be aware of all his ranks status, or they may turn against him. It would be a simple matter to find, and remove the seal placed on this person."

"What do you suggest?"

"I wish to take Kisame and observe the meeting. Should anything go wrong, and Orochimaru shows up, we will move in and take him out then and there." Itachi said, a small trace of malice in his voice.

Pein noticed this. "I do believe that you are looking forward to this confrontation, are you not?"

Itachi nodded. "Hai, I am. And I will make sure that Orochimaru falls before he can continue to interfere with our plans."

Pein shook his head. "Don't let your emotions get the better of you. Attack him only if Sasori needs help, or gives you some kind of signal that suggests that he might need help. Understood?"

Itachi nodded, and quickly faded out. After another moment, everyone else began to fade away as well, disappearing to go and do what they'd been asked to do.

As Pein left, he glanced over into a corner of his room. "Hello...Madara."

From the shadows, a figure wearing a completely black outfit, with an orange mask that swirled toward his right eye, the only open portion of the mask. Pein locked eyes with him, knowing full and well what Madara was here for. After a moment of complete silence, Madara spoke. "Why are you killing off the Bijuu?"

Pein spoke impassively, not reveiling any emotion as he spoke. "I am doing it so that no one else can obtain the Bijuu for their own purposes."

"Yes, but that also forces my back up plan to fail." Madara said, rage apperent in every word he spoke. "Did you even think about that?"

Pein nodded. "Hai, I did. However, it is too risky to allow that plan to go into effect. As such, I deemed it necessary to finish them now."

Madara stared at Pein, looking into one eye, then the other. Finally, realization dawned on him. He growled as he spoke, "You don't trust me."

Pein nodded. "No, I do not."

"You think that you're version of 'peace' will work out better than mine? Mine, which has been planned out for over a hundred year; compaired to your pitiful excuss at peace?"

Pein nodded again. "I know that it will work...because I am a God."

"You are trying to betray me?"

Pein shook his head. "You have never been the true leader. You have hidden in the shadows, not taking command as you should have." He suddenly turned to a nearby window. "If you wish for the organization to follow your command, than take my position from me...if you can."

Leaping through the window, Pein signalled Konan to bring out the Animal Realm. He would need all of his bodies to defeat him, and he would defeat him.

After a second, he stood in front of Madara again, all six of his bodies moving together after Animal Realm had arrived and summoned them. Madara glared at him, as he and the six Pein's charged at each other, both sides attempting to take the other out of the picture. It would be a fight that no one would remember, and yet would be the turning point of many lives.

A/N:Alright everyone, listen up! There are a few things that need to be made clear right now, so please pay attention.

1) Naruto won't be paired with Unohana. After much review and discussion with multiple people, I have found no reasonable way to put the two of them together. I appologize to everyone who was cheering for this pairing.

2) Sasuke's pairing has been decided. It will be...Sasuke/Hinamori! That is all.

3) While I'm not doing an Unohana pairing, there are a few Bleach women who he could be paired with: Soi Fon, Tatsuki, Orihime, Neliel, and Yoruichi. If you have any _other_ suggestions, please alert me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. A special thanks to Kento Namikaze and Raidentensho, for helping me complete Naruto and Sasuke's zanpakuto's. I also have their inner spirits figured as well, so thank you everyone! :D

Finally, do you people think that I should bring in more Naruto characters? Or just do what I'm doing now?

Thank you,

Draco Kamikaze


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Naruto or Bleach. I do however own all the little humor and zanpakuto that Naruto and Sasuke get!

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

Naruto grinned as he sat down in his Zanjutsu class. He was practically bouncing where he sat as he stared at his teacher. Sasuke, who was sitting next to Naruto, groaned at how hyper Naruto was being. But then, he had every reason to be. After all, today was the day they obtained a real zanpakuto to train and use throughout the rest of their lives.

Naruto stopped moving as the teacher glanced in his direction, apparently annoyed by how much energy he had. Of course, containing the energy was something that Naruto had to completely concentrate on; if anyone looked close enough, they'd see a layer of sweat on his face. It was literally that hard for him to do.

Sasuke on the other hand, was the example of perfect self control. Sitting cross legged, he managed to look straight ahead while seeing everything around him. His attention was razor sharp, ready to move to the next thing at a moments notice; something that the teachers greatly admired, and enjoyed. His sponge-like mind help that by letting him learn the different stances and techniques faster than most of the other people; he'd even managed to get a teacher to start teaching some of the more advanced techniques.

Naruto on the other hand, couldn't be taught no matter what anyone tried to do; an Eleventh Division member if they ever saw one. However, he still had a form that none of the students could completely read because of that. He was constantly adding new movements, sometimes even throwing a little Hakuda into his techniques; confusing his enemies, and making Sasuke yell about how they were in the middle of a Kenjutsu class. It was like music to his ears.

As the teacher began to move around, Naruto straightened up a little more. He craned his neck forward, trying to catch anything that would be useful to him for the creation. After a moment, the teacher finally began to explain what he wanted to hear.

The teacher grabbed a small ball and held it up for the class to see. "Now, the creating of a zanpakuto is not as easy as some people may believe it to be. We will give each of you a ball of raw reiatsu in which you will have to mold your reiatsu into it. This will bring you into your 'inner world', where you should meet your zanpakuto's spirit. Your spirit will then allow you to create your zanpakuto. None of you will be able to hear your spirits name just yet, but you will in time as this is necessary to unleash your Shikai. Now, not all of you will be able to do this. As such, the Asauchi (_Shallow Hit_) was created so that you can continue your profession as a shinigami; you just won't have the ability to achieve Shikai just yet."

Some of the kids began to cry in outrage at this. Not being able to achieve Shikai? Were they allowed to do that? Why could some do it and others not? Was their inner world scary?

Naruto just leaned back, a small grin on his face. It was actually easier than he'd thought it was going to be. He'd though that it was going to be some dark, mysterious process; like having to fight a real Hollow till you got it. But this, this was so much easier. Just put some reiatsu into a ball? Piece of cake.

"Now, we want you to come forward one at a time, starting from the beginning."

Naruto sighed, sticking his legs out from underneath himself and reclining where he sat. He was going to be one of the last people, so why should he start to get stressed out? There was really no rhyme or reason to doing so.

Suddenly, a voice cut through his thoughts. "Lazy as ever, right Naruto?"

Naruto tilted his head back till he saw who was standing behind him. "Eh? Kaien!"

Kaien grinned. "Hey man, just wanted to see you and Sasuke get your zanpakuto's."

Naruto quickly spun around to look at Kaien. "Really? Did you want to see my totally awesome, super powerful zanpakuto?"

Kaien chuckled. "And what makes you think that it's going to be like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's a few things that are totally obvious about myself, and my zanpakuto's spirit is the manifestation of my spirit powers. So it would take the form of something that looked totally cool, able to launch powerful waves of energy, and could fell giant Menos with one swoop."

"I wouldn't go that far." Kaien said, trying to understand Naruto's train of thought. He never could understand what was going on with Naruto's…humble ego, something that shouldn't have existed. But then, Naruto was far beyond the normal…he was abnormal.

Naruto chuckled. "I guess so. I'll just leave out the powerful waves of energy part. It has to be _that_ strong."

Sasuke suddenly chuckled. "Yea, you verse a Menos…Menos squishes you like some bug. Victory goes to the big, fat, and ugly."

Naruto blinked. Then, a grin crossed his face as he started laughing. "Sasuke made a funny!"

Kaien leaned over to Sasuke as Naruto suddenly went off on a tangent about how rare it was for Sasuke to say something funny. "How to you stand rooming with him again?"

Sasuke sighed. "Patients, a lot of willpower…and an emergency hammer on hand at all times. You can never be too careful with him enticing the women around here."

Kaien blinked. "What are you –?"

"Just look behind you." Sasuke said, closing his eyes as he began to meditate.

Kaien glanced behind him, and almost cried. Naruto was surrounded by practically every girl in the class. They were all talking at once, and Naruto seemed to be able to jump from conversation to conversation without missing a beat. As he watched, the girls seemed to have some kind of game where they'd all ask Naruto questions at the same time, and then ask Naruto what the answer was to each of their questions. Surprisingly, he looked them all in the eyes and gave them the correct answer every time. _Now if only he could apply that to his academy work…_

"You know, he'd probably be at the top of the class if he spent as much time on his schoolwork as he does trying to listen to all of the girls at once and remembering who said what." Sasuke said, as though he'd read Kaien's thoughts. "Of course, he's too busy messing around to do stuff like that, so he won't be able to get higher than he is at."

Kaien shrugged. "I don't know, he's got quite the group of girls. I bet he's preparing himself for later; so he could get a wife."

Sasuke opened an eye, glancing at Kaien. "Speaking of which…how's your wife been?"

Kaien chuckled nervously. "Well…she's doing alright. There's not much with her, but I love her; I love her a lot." Suddenly, Kaien seemed to remember something. "Oh, I almost forgot, she wants you and Naruto to meet my family tonight. Do you think that'll be alright with the two of you?"

"Why couldn't we meet her before?" Sasuke asked as he glanced over at Kaien.

"Well, academy students aren't allowed to leave the academy without a parent of guardian's permission until they get their zanpakuto's. Since I am neither your parent, or guardian, I couldn't get either of you guys out until now. That's why I told Naruto to keep his grades up for the last three years." Kaien suddenly scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh…I just remembered something. My sister Kukaku and my brother Ganju might be joining us. They don't come by all that often, seeing as I'm usually consumed by my duties, and they might just drop in seeing as I've asked for a day off today. I hope that won't be too troublesome."

Sasuke nodded. He'd expected as much, seeing as they'd been in the academy too long to actually meet his family. They'd heard a lot about them whenever they brought up the subject. They had guessed that it would happen sooner or later. Although…some stuff about his sister seemed kind of scary.

Suddenly, the teacher yelled. "Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke blinked, slowly getting up. _Has time gone by so fast? Have I really gotten to this point?_

Taking an even breath, he took the ball from his teacher's hands. Walking away, he quietly sat down on the side of one of the dueling arenas. He could feel several people's eyes on him, but quickly brushed them off. He needed to concentrate on what he was doing.

However, this became unnecessary as the moment he pushed some of his reiatsu into the ball, he felt himself being sucked into what felt like a deep dark pit. Then, there was silence.

**Sasuke's Inner World**

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in the middle of a golden colored, grassy plane, a few trees popping up here and there. The sky had several, darkened clouds which cast shadows over the land; giving the land a remarkable feeling which he was sure couldn't be said in the words he knew of. But…if he had to use one word to sum up what he was seeing, that word would be _amazing._ It was simply how such a primitive place seemed to hold so much power and mystery about it that captivated him as his eyes continued to look around.

_This is my inner world?_ Sasuke thought as he glanced around. The area extended beyond the horizon, a never ending land that seemed to hold the very essence of his spirit. As he thought this, he remembered why he'd come to this place. Glancing around, he came to this realization that his zanpakuto spirit was no where in sight. He swore to himself. _How am I supposed to find my zanpakuto's spirit in all of this?_

"Hello Sasuke."

Sasuke jumped, surprised to hear someone's voice in this world. It was familiar, and yet foreign. Like he'd heard it through some kind of filter before hearing it now. As the realization of who it was hit him, he found him face to face with his zanpakuto spirit.

He blinked, trying to understand what he was seeing. This was impossible…wasn't it?

"I'm quite certain that this is possible, in here or the real world."

"So, what are you?" Sasuke asked looking the creature over. Its head came up to just below his chin, the large amount of hair made him nearly at his nose. He was obviously a predator, something that was supposed to take down anything and everything around itself. Its large jaw was closed, hiding the sharp fangs that could probably take a chunk out of him any time it wanted. Its large paws, which were equipped with claws that nearly scared him, were at least as large as his own feet. From what he could see, it was about as long as he was tall with thick, coiled muscles rippling as it slowly began to move around him; yet another thing that proved its strength. On its forehead, was a black, six petal flower. When he saw it, he felt somewhat familiar, like he'd seen it before.

"You asked what species I am, an interesting question. The species I am is in the large cat family, a male lion to be exact. The king of the jungle for a better title." The creature said almost smugly, slowly walking around Sasuke. Its voice was strange, like it was echoing within its throat before he spoke. It was a deep voice, that appeared to both calm, and terrify Sasuke. He'd heard that voice so many times before...when he was just talking to him in the real world.

Sasuke stood where he was, letting it do as it pleased as it circled him. "Um…do you have a name?"

"Yes. My name is ----"

Sasuke grimaced realizing why he couldn't hear the name. "Ah, so that's what they meant."

The lion bowed his head. "Yes, your teacher was not stretching the truth. In reality, you shouldn't even be able to hear me as well as you can."

"Then why can I?" Sasuke asked, turning to face the lion.

"All will be revealed in time." The lion said, slowly walking away. As he did so, he slammed one of his paws against the ground; a normal katana slowly sprouted from the air around Sasuke as he did so. "You will require this for when you hear my name. Never forget…you are not alone."

Sasuke tried to say something, but felt himself being dragged out of his world. Struggling as hard as he could, he soon realized it was pointless as he watched himself being dragged out of his inner world.

**Real World**

Naruto grinned as Sasuke began to regain consciousness. He was sitting right in front of him, just waiting for him to wake up. It was taking a lot out of him to sit quietly in front of him, but Sasuke's reaction would be worth every moment.

Sasuke slowly began to open his eyes, sluggishly awakening from the process of creating a zanpakuto. As his eyes began to open, he began to realize that someone was sitting in front of him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he quickly opened one. The blurry shape slowly took shape, quickly becoming Naruto.

This wouldn't have been as abnormal as many people might think seeing as Naruto did this to him all the time. However, having just come back from his inner world, he was a little on edge; so when he saw Naruto's face in front of him he only did what came natural. He hit him.

Naruto fell back on his butt, blinking in confusion. After regaining himself, he grinned at Sasuke. "Someone's a little edge, aren't you?"

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Shut up dobe…I'm not in the mood right now."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, just don't kill me until after I get my zanpakuto too."

Sasuke blinked. "What –?"

He then noticed that in place of the reiatsu ball that had been in front of him, a simple katana had taken its place. It wasn't elegant, or complex, but it was different from the Asauchi's normal appearance. It had a hexagon-like guard, with a golden cloth wrapped just below the guard, and before the handle. Quickly drawing the sword, Sasuke looked over the blade, noticing how exquisite it was in comparison. It was like the blade was actually breathing in the energy around him.

Naruto watched as Sasuke studied his blade, almost jealous of him. All of the teachers had told everyone else to watch him as he did it so that they could get a better idea of how it was done. He watched for a couple of seconds before realizing that they were joking with them, pulling their legs to see how many people would actually watch him. And considering most of the people in the class had been unable to create their own zanpakuto, everyone was watching him.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto jumped up, grinning from ear to ear. It was finally his turn, his time to shine. He practically skipped over to get the ball. The instructor smiled as he handed the ball to Naruto, whose grin never slipped as he picked it up.

The moment he did so, his eyes widened in surprise. His hands gripped the ball as though he were in pain. His breathing was suddenly harder, as though the air had gotten thicker. Everyone else were feeling the same way, as a large amount of silver reiatsu was suddenly pouring off of Naruto, pushing the teachers back to a safe distance as they watched him. Kaien and Sasuke could just watch in awe as his power continued to grow, exceeding anything Sasuke had ever seen. For Kaien, Naruto's reiatsu would be at least a twelfth seat in any division.

Finally, as it reached the point where the class was moments away from passing out, Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed.

Sasuke rushed over to Naruto, trying to figure out what had just happened. The teachers kept their distance, not wanting to get any closer to Naruto due to the amount of power that he'd just shown. They were taught what to do when stuff like that happened…they had only made it to around fifteenth seat or so before being assigned to the academy; he had more powerful then they though he would be.

Kaien walked over, surprise evident on his face as he looked down on Naruto. He had not had that much power when he and Kaien had first met. He might have made it as someone who was just above people with an Asauchi. But now…his growth had been amazing. To have that much power and the possible potential of having it continue to grow was amazing. He was _so_ going to enjoy teaching him Shunpo.

**Naruto's Inner World**

Naruto never would have guessed that _this_ was what his inner world looked like. He'd expected something…less than this. This brought back so many memories…so many things that he'd almost forgotten after he'd died. His inner world…was the training ground where the Memorial Stone was. In fact, there was a large, blank stone where the Memorial Stone would have been in real life. The fact that it was blank made him feel a little strange; almost like he was relieved.

The grass, the trees, even the clouds appeared the same as that very day that he'd become a Genin, when he'd started the path to where he could have one day become one of the great, and powerful Hokage's. The air blew lightly through the trees, tossing his hair lightly as it seemed to dance within it. His kimono caught parts of the wind, billowing out in an almost comical fashion.

He slowly looked around, trying to see if anyone else was with him. After realizing that he was alone, he grimaced. _This totally sucks. I'm on the training ground where I became a Genin, I'm all alone, and I'm so freaking hungry!_

Grimacing again, he looked around to see if there was any food. It was his inner world; surely there would be food _somewhere_. Maybe a large bowl of steaming ramen…oh, the joys of ramen.

Naruto stopped turning around as something caught his attention. A light gleam caught off a portion of the object, making him walk towards it. In front of the Memorial Stone was something that had _not_ been there before. He slowly walked up to it, getting closer to get a better look at the object. He blinked as his figured out what he was seeing.

It was a sword. Not exactly as large as he thought it was going to be, but at the same time, it was definitely a sword. Slowly, he reached down and picked it up. It was just a little bit larger than a normal wakizashi; maybe by a few inches or so at most. Its guard, unlike almost every other guard he'd seen, was triangular in shape. The abnormality of it was fitting for it, as it fit with himself. Slowly, he drew it from its scabbard. It had an almost light luster, one which caught the light and let only the tiniest bit off of it. Slowly, he gave it a light swing.

He grinned. It wasn't too long, so he could lure his enemies into a Hakuda match where he'd still be able to strike them with the blade. But at the same time, it was just long enough that he wouldn't lose should he get into heavy grapples with an enemy. Its weight was perfectly balanced so as to give it the strength to move dexterously through the air, as well as through a battle. It was definitely the perfect blade for him.

"What will you use it for?"

Naruto blinked. _Someone else is here? ...wait, I know that voice._ For a brief moment, he considered turning around, but then he stopped. He didn't need to know, not right now. "I guess that depends…what are my options?"

"You have the ability to use that blade for everything, and anything you want. If you want to, you could use it to cause mass destruction to everything and everyone around you. Or, you could use it as a shield to defend yourself. Which will you choose?"

Naruto groaned. "Why do people like you always have to ask stuff like this? There's no way to answer that question without being wrong."

"Explain."

Naruto growled. "If I say one, I'll be considered a danger to society, and to everyone around me. If I choose the other, I'm self-centered, and could get everyone killed."

"Did I say that I would judge you based on you decision?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, but that's what anyone else would do. Why can't I just attack to defend?"

"Explain."

Naruto slowly held the sword out in front of himself, letting it once again catch the light. "Well, how should I put it?" He slowly tilted the blade from side to side, before giving it a quickly slashing movement. "I want a bladed shield; something that will allow me to become a sword for myself, as well as a shield for others. After all, isn't the best defense an even better offense? Isn't that the original purpose of all weapons? To use as tools to protect themselves from their enemies? If that's still true today, then why can't I say that?"

"You just did."

Naruto blinked. "Uh…well yea I guess I did." A small grin crossed his face as he sheathed his sword. "That is our purpose; to use my own hands to push forward and attack because it is the best way to defend."

"I see. Well, that is truly a powerful purpose for us to follow. I hope that you call on me soon."

Naruto nodded. "See you around. Hey, maybe next time, I'll ask your name for real."

Behind him, his zanpakuto's spirit grinned. "Until then, remember what you have said. It may help you more than you realize."

Naruto smiled as he felt the light tugging of his body pulling himself out into the real world.

After a moment, another figure came out. He was completely covered in shadows, obscured from the view of everyone. _**"You just let him walk off? Without even trying to tell him your name?"**_

"Hai, there is no reason for me to push him further than is necessary. However, it would do well for you to stop this growth that you are attempting to push on him. We don't wish for him to stand out just yet."

"_**You're no fun. Can I just…?"**_

"No, not until _after_ the academy."

"_**But the Uchiha's won't stop; why should I?"**_

"Because we are not the Uchiha, and you are able to make Naruto's power rise much faster than the Uchiha's ever could. Understand?"

"_**So you're saying that I'm doing too good of a job at what I'm doing?"**_

"Precisely."

"_**Damn."**_

"Go cry somewhere else."

The second figure just laughed as it slunk back into the forest leaving the first to himself. "He's such a pest. However necessary he is to Naruto's development in the future, I will not allow him to do whatever he pleases." A silvery mist slowly began to encircle him. "I vow to protect you…just like my King has vowed to protect everyone else. Please, prepare yourself for my power."

**Real World**

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, a throbbing pain shooting through his head. After a moment, he began to make out a few people around him. Hanataro was sitting directly over his head, a look of concentration on his face. Sasuke and Kaien were either side of him, concerned looks on their faces as they watched Hanataro and himself. He could just barely see the shadows of a lot of the other students who were talking amongst themselves.

Naruto groaned, alerting everyone to his mental state. Within moments, everyone was crowding around him, trying to see if he was alright, or just to see him. It took Sasuke, Kaien, and all of the teachers to push them back and give him a little bit of room to get up. He was lightly glad about this, as the moment he sat up, he felt like he was going to puke.

"Uh…what happened?" Naruto asked, his eyes closed as he tried to contain the rising bile in his throat.

"You passed out when you touched the reiatsu ball. Apparently, no one has had the amount of reiatsu before touching one, so it overloaded your senses and forced you to pass out." Hanataro said, slowly spreading the medical Kido through Naruto's body. "If you feel any discomfort or sickness, it might be because you hit your head pretty hard when you fell down. If you move around to much, you throw up."

A few people close to them quickly backpedaled when they heard this. No one wanted to be covered in puke regardless of whether or not it was an accident. Naruto grimaced. "Thanks for the heads up."

Kaien grinned as he knelt next to Naruto. "So, have you seen your zanpakuto yet?"

Naruto nodded, raising his zanpakuto to let Kaien see it. Kaien examined it carefully, a little surprised by how small it was despite Naruto's large amount of reiatsu. If he hadn't been given a reiatsu ball to channel and create his zanpakuto for even a few more years, he probably wouldn't have been able to reseal it. Or at least, it would have been quite difficult to reseal. He doubted that Zaraki-taicho knew how to seal his zanpakuto, mostly due to the fact that he didn't bother learning its name. Had he the decency to ask it, he would probably be able to become even stronger.

"It's an awesome sword Naruto!" Hanataro said, looking it over, a small grin on his face as he looked at it. "I bet my zanpakuto won't that cool… your zanpakuto's spirit probably looks cooler too."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I didn't see him. I mean, I could have…but I didn't want to right now."

Kaien looked at him curiously. "I think I'm confused. Why wouldn't you want to see him right now?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm horrible with names, and usually have to put them with a face to get them stuck in my head. I don't want to not know what he looks like till I know what his name is."

Kaien nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

"Are you going to tell him?" Sasuke said, taking Naruto's sword and looking it over. He had a light, almost superior grin as he looked it over. It left after he drew it, and was replaced with something that was closer to awe.

Kaien snapped his fingers. "Oh yea! My family wants to meet you today at my sister's house, and since you and Sasuke have your zanpakuto, you're allowed to leave the academy for periods of time. So what do you say?"

Naruto was about to answer but suddenly waved for Hanataro to get him a trash can. Hanataro just barely gave it to him before he puked into the bucket. Kaien looked slightly amused. "Geez Naruto, all you had to do was say no."

Naruto shook his head, trying to make his headache recede. "I would love to come."

Kaien grinned. "Great to hear. Now, try and recover quickly. We don't want you to be too sick when you meet them." He quickly stood up, bowed to their teachers and walked out.

After a couple of seconds, Hanataro glanced at Naruto. "Wow, you're friends with him?"

Naruto nodded. "Why? Am I not supposed to be friends with him?"

"It's not that, it's just that he's from a noble family." Hanataro said, waving his arms around as he tried to make his point. "His sister is supposed to be an insane pyromaniac who blows stuff up for fun all the time!"

Naruto shrugged. "It'll be a much better atmosphere than the silence I can never seem to get away from. It's so~ boring!"

Hanataro was about to say something when the teacher yelled, "Yamada Hanataro!"

"Oh! I'm up; please wish me luck!" Hanataro said as he walked over to the teachers.

Sasuke sat down next to Naruto. "So…we're going to meet Kaien's family."

Naruto nodded. "I guess so."

The two of them stared straight ahead for a moment. Then, "I'm pretty sure that Kukaku is going to kill you the moment you step in the door. You're too much alike."

Naruto shrugged. "You're probably more screwed; opposites attract you know."

A vein bulged on Sasuke's head. "Watch it dobe."

"Make me, teme!"

"That's it!" Sasuke roared as he drew his zanpakuto. The rest of the class scattered as Naruto drew his own sword free of its scabbard.

They both clashed with each other until they were both bashed over the head by one of their instructors who finally noticed them fighting. After a stern lecture, they were sent to their next class.

**Later That Day**

"This feels weird."

"Normally, I wouldn't agree. But this…this it way too much."

Naruto grabbed either side of his head. "What sort of crazy woman lives in a house like this?"

Just as he said, the house was weird…and that was quite the understatement. It was a huge house with two wooden arms situated on either side of the building holding a banner saying "Shiba Residence". Luckily, Kaien was standing in front of it, bringing a small amount of normality to the home. Both Naruto and Sasuke greeted the guards before they walked in, wondering what Kukaku and Ganju were like.

As they entered the dining room, they were greeted with the sight of three people sitting around the table; two girls and one guy. The first girl seemed pleasant enough; black kimono, hair pulled back into a bun, and a smile on her face. Obviously Kaien's wife.

The other two…could _not_ have been related to Kaien. The girl, although missing her right arm, was lounging about, apparently not caring what was going on at that particular moment. Her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as she stared at the ceiling. The boy on the other hand, while a little bit respectful, had no sense of manners. He quickly changed back to his normal self once he saw that Naruto and Sasuke were with Kaien, obviously not caring about what they thought of him.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other. Even though they weren't able to read each others thoughts, they knew they were thinking the same thing. _What have we gotten ourselves into?_

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'd like you to meet my family." Kaien said a courteous smile on his face. "First is my wife, Shiba Miyako." The woman bowed as Kaien motioned to her. "My sister, Shiba Kukaku." The one armed girl just gave a quick wave before continuing her staring. "And my brother, Shiba Ganju. He's the weird one."

"Ni-san! I'm not weird!" Ganju said, glaring at his brother.

Kaien shrugged. "You still play in the dirt, fight dirty, and ride those hogs. You're officially past weird."

Ganju had a thunderstruck face as he continued to stare at Kaien, who calmly sat down at the table. "So, what's for dinner? Nothing that will blow up in our guests faces I hope."

Kukaku sighed. "I only did that _once_ and you know it."

"You did it to a captain."

"He had it coming. The freak was freaking hitting on me."

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other. _Kyouraku._

"That doesn't change anything!" Kaien said, trying not to raise his voice.

"Uh, Kaien-san?" Naruto asked, glancing at his friend. "Don't you think that he might have had it coming? She is a master of explosives, like you said."

Kaien thought it over. "Well, considering it was Kyouraku…I'll let it slide. But that won't stop me from teasing you about it."

Kukaku pouted. "Well then, maybe I should let our guests know how you met your wife."

Kaien suddenly paled. "Please don't! They don't need to know that!"

Miyako blushed. "Kaien is right. Please don't tell them."

Kukaku shrugged. "Well, since you asked so nicely…sure." She leaned forward, an evil gleam in her eyes. "That's strike one."

Kaien gulped. He knew his sister wasn't kidding around, and would not let him down unless he was able to distract her.

A sudden, deep growl suddenly filled the room. All eyes fell on Naruto, who grinned sheepishly. "Hey, what do you got to eat? I'm starving!"

Kukaku shrugged. "I didn't make it. Ask Miyako."

"We're having _food_ dobe. Or did you not figure that out?" Sasuke drawled out, trying to make Naruto sound stupider than he normally did.

Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke, you made another funny!"

Ganju suddenly started chuckling. "Oh, and I'm the only one here who's weird? What about him?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not entertained by playing in a sandbox."

A small silence filled the room. Then, "Why did you have to say that ni-san!" Ganju yelled as he tried to attack Naruto. Naruto didn't flinch as he grabbed Ganju's arm and threw him over his head.

Kukaku raised an eyebrow. Ganju was no small guy; he had plenty of muscle to back up some of the stuff he did. Plus with his 'dirt magic', which vaguely resembled Kido, he was actually pretty hard to beat…when he wasn't fooling around. This kid might be able to become something great someday. She glanced over at Kaien. "Okay…who're the kids again?"

"Naruto and Sasuke, they're two kids I met on one of my border runs when I was third seat. We became pretty good friends over time, and they are currently in the academy."

Shiomi smiled. "Well, it is nice to meet the both of you."

Ganju suddenly jumped up. "It doesn't matter! I will destroy you for your insults of myself!" Ganju bolted forward, intent on slamming Naruto into the table.

Naruto quickly stood up, grabbing Ganju by his shirt in the middle of his charge. Then, after sweeping his legs from underneath him, he swung him in a counterclockwise direction while pushing him away. After spinning him to the point that his head was facing downward, he shoved Ganju backward. Ganju actually slid quite a distance before coming to a stop outside of the dinning room doors, unconscious. Naruto slowly walked over and quietly closed the door.

If Kukaku had been surprised by his previous throw, she was blown away by that. For someone who was still in the academy to perform such an advanced aikido technique…it shouldn't have been possible. "Hey kid…how'd you do that?"

Naruto glanced at her before shrugging. "I don't know; I just make it up as I go along."

Kaien chuckled. "It's what makes him a dangerous fighter. No one can follow his thought process, or his techniques."

"What thought process?" Sasuke asked, taking a rice ball from the plate that Shiomi had brought out.

Naruto grumbled. "I think that's the third time you've made a funny tonight. To bad I was the butt of this joke; it might have been funnier."

Kukaku, Kaien, Sasuke and Miyako laughed at Naruto, who soon joined in on their laughter. They were so busy laughing they totally missed Ganju sliding back to his seat at the table.

Ganju glanced at Naruto. It was impossible. If what Kaien had said was true, than he couldn't have been much older than himself. But the amount of skill that he used was beyond the many things that he'd seen his brother do with his zanpakuto. And he was using pure Hakuda. If he added some Kido to it…

A mischievous grin crossed his face as he spun his hand in a circle next to Naruto, sending a tiny amount of reiatsu into the floor.

Naruto didn't notice till the last second, and found himself trapped up to his armpits in some kind of quicksand. Blinking in confusion, he glanced up at Ganju who had a look of triumph on his face. Naruto's mind took a moment to process the information, trying to figure out the fastest way to get back at Ganju. After a couple of seconds, he came up with his answer. "Hado 1: Sho (_Thrust_)!"

Ganju's last expression before he went flying back was one of complete confusion. He didn't stand a chance as he went flying headfirst into a wall. Kukaku hardly spared him a second glance. "He deserved it. Attacking a guest is unprofessional for a noble."

Kaien shrugged. "While that might be true, Naruto didn't have to do that. Using Kido to knock him away? Why not Bakudo? It's cleaner?"

Sasuke chuckled as Naruto looked away. "It turns out; Naruto's gotten good grades because all of the Bakudo spells are below number twenty-five. The moment he tries anything like that, his skill goes out the window. Seriously, he actually bound himself with the Bakudo he was supposed to do. It was really funny."

Naruto grumbled. "Bakudo never did me much good anyways. Besides, I'm working on making something much cooler."

Sasuke blinked. "Are you talking about…_that_?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, not _that_, just a different version of some of the Hado."

"Really?" Kaien said, giving Naruto a curious glance.

Naruto nodded nervously. "Yea…but don't tell anyone! If anyone finds out, I might be put in the Twelfth Division."

Everyone at the table shuddered at the thought of him in Twelfth Division, and what the captain might do. Or even worse, what Naruto might bring about if _he_ became captain. A person who spontaneously jumped from thing to thing, usually having things blow up in his face…it would destroy the Seireitei.

"Uh…what did I miss?" Ganju asked, groggily getting up.

Naruto stared at him for a moment before glancing over to Kaien. "He's got a great recovery time."

Kaien nodded. "I think this is a new record. Kukaku, have you been pounding him in the head again?"

Kukaku glanced at her nails innocently. "Maybe."

"Can I have some more?" Sasuke asked, holding out his bowl to Miyako.

"Oh, do you like it?" Miyako asked, grabbing the bowl. "I hope I didn't add too much spice; I've done that too many times to count, so…"

"It's awesome!" Naruto said, punching his fist into the air before engorging himself on the food.

Miyako smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. We don't get much company around here lately, seeing as Kaien doesn't bring any friends over." She gave Kaien a playful glare.

Kaien chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't want you to meet _any_ of the guys from the Thirteenth Division. They are really great people, it's just…I wouldn't want to bring any of them home. Naruto and Sasuke are just a lot more laid back, and I can trust them not to brag about how they had dinner with a noble."

Naruto grinned. "That's right! I might mention that I had dinner outside the academy, but not anything as compromising as that. Besides, what would I gain from it?"

"Popularity, people's respect, and practically everyone's attention." Kukaku said, monotonously listing off a few things that came to her mind.

Sasuke shrugged. "Why would we want more of that? We get plenty right now."

Miyako glanced at them. "Really? Do you get a lot people watching you?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yep. I get a lot of guys who admire my strength, and Naruto gets a lot of girls because he's a big flirt."

Naruto smirked. "That's right, I'm a big flirt. And there's nothing you can do to stop that!"

Kaien raised an eyebrow. "…you openly admit that you're a flirt?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's a lot better than being called a 'player'. That makes me sound like some kind of womanizer who wouldn't care about whatever girl he was with. I just like being around a lot of girls; their personalities seem to mesh together. Plus, it's fun to hear what they think of all the other guys…it's actually rather funny."

Kukaku glanced between the two of them. "So…you're a guy who's constantly surrounded by guys. And you're…constantly surrounded by girls." Naruto and Sasuke nodded. Kukaku glanced at Kaien. "So, which one of them would you say is gayer?"

Both of the boys began to glare daggers into at Kukaku. They quickly changed to Kaien when he answered. "You know, I ask that question all the time. And there is never a correct answer to that question."

Miyako sighed. "Kaien, please play nice. They're our guests after all."

Kaien chuckled. "Fine, but could you tell them to turn off the killer intent? It's almost scary how strong it is. Almost."

Sasuke had finally figured out how the Shiba family's hierarchy was. Kaien was the fearless leader, Kukaku was sort of the 'queen', and Ganju could have easily been the court jester, while Miyako was the peacemaker. All in all, the most dysfunctional family that he'd ever come across since Team 7.

His mind suddenly froze. Had he just thought that? Had he just put his former team on the same level as an actual family? To think that he thought Sakura was like his annoying sister, who no one really wanted around until she became serious; who was constantly clinging to others for support. Kakashi…maybe the uncle who would never get the picture to leave. Yet at the same time, you could always depend on him if you needed to get out of a sticky situation.

But Naruto, there was a thought he never thought would hit him. He'd had a brother before, and had made up his mind about what a brother was supposed to act like. And yet, Naruto was not only fulfilling that role to a tee, but was actually doing better at it than his brother ever could. Sure, his brother had turned into a family killing psychopath, but he'd been the only brother he'd had. Naruto…he was like a _brother_; someone who helps you up when you're down, tries his best at everything so you'll laugh when it blows up in his face, supports you when you're facing something you couldn't take on your own, and just being there to chat about random stuff. Naruto was his brother.

He mentally shrugged. _We're dead; those rules don't really apply anymore. So…if I have to choose someone else to be my brother, I could have done _much_ worse. Like Ganju…he's just stupid._

Sure enough, Ganju was trying to tell Naruto about how weak his technique had been and how he'd be able to beat the gayness out of him with one punch. Naruto's eyebrows were twitching as he tried not to hit the poor guy. Unfortunately, he didn't shut up in time, said a few more stupid things, and was subsiquentialy sent flying outside courtesy of Naruto's fist. The killing intent flared up again as he followed poor Ganju outside.

Sasuke sighed. "Well, I definitely could have done a lot worse."

**Later That Night**

Naruto grinned eagerly as he watched Kaien. Kaien was demonstrating how to correctly perform a Shunpo to Naruto; it was _way_ faster than the Hoho that he learned at the academy. His eyes barely kept track of Kaien's movements, mostly seeing only a blur moving before seeing the actual him stop to perform the technique again.

After another moment Kaien stopped in front of Naruto. "Alright, that's how you perform Shunpo. Now I'll explain how _you_ perform Shunpo."

Naruto nodded eagerly, his grin widening even more as he sat down and waited for Kaien to explain. "What do I have to do?"

"It's a little more complicated than you might think." Kaien said, shaking his head at Naruto's silly actions. He had no idea how complicated it was. "What you need to do, is figure out which muscles you're using in your body whenever you move. Then, once you've done that, you need to figure out what you need to do with the rest of your body moves, and make them act accordingly. You then simply push your muscles to their limit so that you actually propel yourself forward."

"I don't get it." Naruto deadpanned, lightly smacking his head against the ground.

Kaien sighed. _This is going to be so much harder to explain to him. Maybe I should just…_

"Naruto." Sasuke said, walking up to him. Naruto glanced up as Sasuke continued speaking. "It's like moving the strings of a puppet in a special way to make it perform the movements you want. It could also be like a tree in the wind; it needs to bend to the point where it might snap before it moves back even faster."

Kaien blinked. "What are you talking about? That doesn't even relate to what –"

"Oh! I get the second one!" Naruto said, a picture of a tree branch swinging and smacking Sasuke faster than if he just smacked him with a normal branch smacking him. It was also funnier.

"Uh. You understood that?" Kaien asked, more confused than he thought he could ever be. Sasuke had somehow mannaged to explain something to Naruto that he himself couldn't? That wasn't totally insane, but it was quite crazy.

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Yea! I just have to tighten the muscles inside me like when you bend a tree branch, and release a few while tightening others while I move! Then, I have to breath so that the air doesn't slow me down to much."

Kaien's mouth dropped. That was _almost_ a perfect definition of Shunpo. The only real difference was that people didn't refer to the tree branches when they were discussing it.

"Alright! I'm going to try it now!" Naruto said, quickly standing up. Focusing on the muscles in his legs, he quickly tightened certain parts of them and pushed himself forward. While not as fast as Kaien's had been, it was much faster than the normal Hoho method. He grinned for a second in triumph…until he forgot to lossen the muscles and crashed headfirst into a wall.

"Well, that wasn't bad for your first time." Kaien said, trying not to laugh as Naruto picked himself up. "But, you're going to need to concentrate more; otherwise, you'll crash into the wall again."

Naruto nodded vigerously. "Alright, I'll –"

"It's like this dobe." Sasuke said, suddenly bluring towards Naruto.

Kaien could easily follow the bastardized Shunpo. However, in definition, he'd just performed a Shunpo. It wasn't as fast as it could have been, yes, but it was a Shunpo never the less. "I'm surprised Sasuke. You did pretty good for your first time."

Sasuke shrugged. "I just understood all the other stuff you said. If Naruto had listened to you...or to himself for that matter, he would have realized how to stop himself from crashing into the wall. Dobe."

"Teme!"

Kukaku watched all this from the shadows, laughing lightly as they argued. "The Seireitei has no~ idea what they are getting themselves into. I can't wait to give the kid fireworks...it'll be a riot!"

A/N: Thank you my loyal fans!

So, what did you think of Sasuke and his funnys? If the humor wasn't there, please let me know. My Beta constantly tells me that stuff, and I want my readers opinion.

Also, there will be a minimal amount of Naruto characters returning to the Bleach world. The two of them will be Shinigami, and were mentioned in an earlier chapter. However, a few of the bad guys _will_ come back, simply for later plot. You'll find out who, later.

Currently, the poll for Naruto's love interest is as follows:

Neliel: 4

Orihime: 3

Tatsuki: 0 (wow)

Yoruichi: 10

Soi: 11

Well, this is quite interesting. _Not one person voted for Tatsuki!_ I'm simply amazed by how that worked out. Well, we currently have a lead with Soi. Tatsuki and Orihime are out for now, seing as they got the least amount of votes. This leaves Neliel, Yoruichi, and Soi. Personally, I'm leaning towards Soi myself, but that's just me.

Anyways, did you like Sasuke's zanpakuto spirit? And who was that mysterious person in Naruto's inner world? You'll find out later in the story...if you REVIEW!

Thank you,

_Draco Kamikaze_


	5. Chapter 5

_Thoughts_

_"Zanpakuto spirit speech"_

(_Japanese translations_)

**Scene change**

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

"So, we're all here." Orochimaru said, slowly glancing around at the three people who were surrounding him. He wasn't at the peak of strength, as he would need to change bodies as soon as was possible, and knew that he was quite vulnerable in comparison to the three of them. He could practically feel their power as they stared him down.

Itachi, Sasori, and Kisame watched the snake as he slowly attempted to stand. It had taken them nearly six months after their first meeting on the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, and all three of them were quite pleased to have finally found where the snake had been hiding. They all understood what their mission was, and wouldn't fail in that respect. However, they needed to be careful; he didn't become a member of the Sanin just because he was somewhat smart, he had enough power to back him up. Even in a weakened state, they would watch him like a cornered snake; cautious until they had struck the final blow.

Itachi glanced. "Sasori-san, would you like to do the honors?"

Sasori nodded, his red hair fluttering lightly in the wind. "Hai, that would be appreciated. I still must pay him back for destroying Hiruko. I quite enjoyed using him, although a puppet of a former Sanin would be an excellent new addition. Then I'll get that Kabuto boy. I'll have created three hundred human puppets with you two as additions."

Orochimaru chuckled. "And what makes you think that you'll be able to defeat me in the first place?" As he asked, he suddenly dropped to his knees in a coughing fit. As he pulled his hand away from his mouth, he realized that there was a small amount of blood in his hands. He cursed under his breath as he turned back to them.

Sasori stared at him impassively. "You have weakened to the point where it hurts for you to stand." He reached into his cloak, pulling out a scroll. "Now, I will kill you and the boy, and create my puppets."

Orochimaru growled. "Don't take me lightly!" He yelled as he rushed forward.

"Itachi, Kisame, please stand back." Sasori said as he unsealed the Sandaime Kazekage.

"As you wish. However, we will intervene should we deem it necessary." Itachi said, stepping back from the battle. "Kisame."

Kisame nodded, quickly forming seals. "I know."

A sudden, large explosion filled the building, ripping the roof off of the entire section they had been under. Itachi and Kisame had moved to the top of the hole, staring down at Orochimaru and Sasori as the former partner's faced off.

Orochimaru wasted no time as he rushed forward, surprisingly fast despite his sickness. Sasori didn't flinch as he moved his hands, making the Kazekage open its mouth to spew a large amount of poison gas at him.

Orochimaru formed the snake seal and slid into the ground. He quickly began to move through the ground, sliding towards Sasori. Due to the cloud, he'd created a powerful smokescreen that was now working against him.

Just as he was about to attack Sasori, he stopped. Realization dawned on him as he noticed what Sasori had done. He'd moved forward, slowly walking himself into the very center of the gas. This would mean that if he came up to attack him, he'd be unable to get him without being poisoned.

_Clever._ He thought, quickly moving to one of the walls. _But I won't fall for it._

Slowly extending himself from the earth, he glared into the poison cloud. He could barely make out the vague shape of Sasori in the center of the cloud, not yet noticing that he was being watched. Orochimaru quickly flew through a set of seals, ending on the tiger seal. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! (_Grand Fireball Technique_)"

The ball of flame quickly sped towards the figure in the center, pushing the poison away as it seemed to charge through. Sasori realized what was happening, and quickly jumped out of the way. As he slid next to the Kazekage, he stared over at Orochimaru. "You've underestimated me."

Orochimaru chuckled, trying not to show how painful that action was. "I guess I should have known. I knew about the one weakness of that particular poison; that it was made from a highly combustible material. No matter what form it was in, it would quickly catch fire. You persisted in using it while I was your partner…why did you change?"

Sasori sighed. "Sometime the leader's judgment disappoints me. With you, it was that I was working with someone who wished for immortality; to obtain everything in the vast expanse that you then had. Now, my partner is a pyromaniac who believes that his little fireworks are true works of art. True art is forever."

Orochimaru glared. He hadn't answered his question; in fact, he'd actually avoided it. However, he wanted to get as much information about this person, just in case he had to fight him after he'd killed Sasori. "True works of art? You still believe that you're little puppet show is a true work of art? Please, I've seen much better works throughout my lifetime. And we both know how long that's been. Your art is obsolete."

Sasori nodded, his fingers moving in a rapid pattern. "So you say. However, I know something you don't." As he spoke, the Sandaime Kazekage's mouth suddenly opened, a stream of thick, sand-like objects slowly falling out. "Despite your knowledge of many other arts, you will learn of why mine is truly the best…and the strongest. You will learn why one of the oldest art forms, is the strongest of all art forms."

"Satetsu (_Iron Sand_)?" Orochimaru said as he watched it begin to whirl around. Sasori just nodded before making the Sandaime Kazekage charge forward.

Orochimaru jumped to the side, barely avoiding the brunt of the attack. He'd heard about this ability; it was something he'd tried to recreate on more than one occasion. However, to actually see someone who could use the technique…who was a puppet made him growl. How dare Sasori kill off the last user of that bloodline. Now he'd never have the chance of recreating it naturally.

He almost missed the next strike, as the sand tried to crash down on him. He slithered around the different strikes, trying to head towards Sasori. But every time he tried, he found his way blocked by the Kazekage puppet. He really didn't want to destroy it, as it was a rare artifact that should be preserved, but it was getting in the way of his objective. The puppet would have to go.

Before he could move his body suddenly collapsed from underneath him. He gasped as he realized what was happening. No matter how strong his will was, he couldn't stop the body he was occupying from deteriorating just yet. He looked at his blackening hands, trying to stop the world from spinning as his breath slowly became labored. In a manner of speaking, he was noticed this opening, and sent in a wave of satetsu to finish him off. Realizing that he was currently out of options, Orochimaru opened his mouth.

Itachi's eyes widened as he saw what Orochimaru was doing. By expelling the first version of his soul, he was both leaving himself vulnerable as well as with more power within his grasp. A lot of power. His eyes slowly began to morph into another shape, preparing for if he needed to use it.

Sasori narrowed his eyes as he saw the real Orochimaru. "So…this is your true form. This is the method you've followed to immortality."

Orochimaru hissed, his giant body slithering around Sasori and the Kazekage. "Yes~. With the abilities of the white snake, I have truly found the path to immortality! And now, I will take your body and continue my work."

Sasori sighed. "I highly doubt that you'd be able to do that."

Orochimaru scowled. Rushing forward, he attempted to crush the Kazekage under a blunt strike. The Kazekage raised his hands, creating a dense barrier of chakra around himself and Sasori. Orochimaru screeched as he drew back his head, a small amount of blood dripping from his forehead.

As he screeched, Sasori sent more satetsu at him, trying to crush him as quickly as possible. At the last second, Orochimaru shot forward, nearly crushing the Kazekage as he slammed into the ground right in front of Sasori.

Sasori sighed as his cloak blew off. Orochimaru growled as he finally realized what he'd meant before. "So…you turned your own body into a puppet? I finally understand how you were able to walk into that poison cloud without being poisoned yourself." His tongue slipped in and out of his mouth, showing his agitation. "I guess I'll just have to kill you!"

He shot forward again, trying to take Sasori out as quickly as possible. Sasori quickly brought the Kazekage besides him, ready to counterattack.

However, neither were necessary. As Orochimaru neared Sasori, a black flame suddenly burst on Orochimaru's skin. His eyes widened in shock as he screeched and slammed against a wall, trying to get the flames off of him. Sasori glanced up, noticing the small amount of blood that was coming out of Itachi's eyes. What a strange technique…perhaps this is the true power he possesses? I certainly hope that I don't have to face that technique…I would definitely die.

Orochimaru continued to scream in agony, unable to put the fires out. Itachi and Kisame jumped down to Sasori's side. "I could have handled that by myself you know. He has never been a true artisan, such as myself."

Itachi nodded. "I understand. However, I do believe that I should make a point that we told you we wouldn't interfere unless we deemed him hazardous. In the form, and with the power he possesses, we were the ones in danger. No matter how slight it was."

Kisame gave Itachi a dirty look. "Now what do you mean by that? That somehow, he might have gotten one of us and took over our bodies?"

Itachi nodded. "I could see his chakra, where you cannot. The wound on his head was leaking a chakra and was turning his blood into some kind of poison. If inhaled, it would probably paralyze you until he'd taken over your body. You would then have your will crushed beneath his, and would be stuck within him as he used your body for his own means."

"Oh." Kisame said, trying not show how stupid he felt. It was one of the few times he'd forgotten how many times Itachi's abilities had saved him. He was sure that he'd be able to stop that particular technique should Itachi try to use it on him, but he had plenty of other techniques that could easily be used to kill him without having to resort to that move. He glanced away, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks for that."

"It is alright; you are my partner, and I do not wish for you to fall to someone as lowly as him." Itachi said, watching the still burning Orochimaru. "He deserves this death. Now, no one will be able to recreate him or his abilities for a long time."

Orochimaru screamed. "This isn't possible! I am immortal! I am the closest thing to a God! No, I AM GOD!!! I AM ALL POWERFUL!!!"

Itachi slowly turned away from Orochimaru as he continued his rant. "You are nothing more than a disgrace. Burn Orochimaru, for these flames will feel light once you cast to everlasting darkness." He walked away, letting Orochimaru's body slowly become ashes right before their eyes.

Sasori had a small smirk as he sealed Orochimaru's stolen body within a scroll. "It may not be his original body, but it should have the same properties." He glanced back at Itachi and Kisame, giving them a small bow. "Thank you for all that you have done."

Kisame shrugged. "It was our job." There was a small silence as they glanced around. "Just out of curiosity, what did you really want with Orochimaru's Edo Tensei (_Resurrection to the Impure World_) anyways? After all, that is what you had Kabuto sneak around to find out about, was it not?"

Sasori looked away, no emotion on his face. "I merely wished to see how far he'd come with his technique. That is the only thing I desired of that technique."

Itachi sighed. "There is no need to keep secrets from us. After all, doing something like that is what eventually got Orochimaru killed. Besides, there is hardly anything you could do with the technique that would surprise us."

Kisame nodded, causing Sasori to sigh. "Fine. My parents died when I was young during the Second Great Shinobi War. I simply wanted to bring them back…even if just for a moment. I always wondered what they were like, and the technique might have given me a chance to learn a little more."

Kisame glanced at Itachi, surprise on his face. "Okay, that kind of surprised me. I mean, it's not impractical, just surprising."

Itachi nodded. "Every person, no matter how deeply disturbed by darkness, wishes to know of their origins. It is that desire that eventually pushes some people to seek out their parents."

"And then there are those who completely massacre their clan, for no purpose that he will tell anyone." Kisame said, a sadistic grin on his face.

Itachi suddenly began to cough, a small amount of blood getting splattered on his hand. As Kisame watched Itachi, his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Itachi, have you been taking your medication?"

Itachi nodded, a slight grimace on his face. "Hai, I've taken my medication…on occasion."

"Meaning?"

"I'm dying. Faster now than before since I've stopped taking the full dose. I needed some closure before I passed, and now I will be able to do so in peace."

Sasori glanced between the two of them, trying to understand what was happening. After a second his eyes widened. "If I'm to understand correctly, you've got some…disease, poison, something. It is incurable in a manner of speaking, and you only have a manner of time left."

"Two months to be more exact." Itachi said, lightly clutching his chest as he took a deep breath.

"So…what are you going to do with your last days?" Sasori asked, tilting his head to the side. "You know how long you have, so what will you do with the time?"

"I'm not sure myself. However, I'm not going to live it to the best of my abilities." He glanced over at the two of them. "Please…promise that you'll burn my body once I die. I don't want anyone else to get at the Uchiha's secrets. To recreate this cursed bloodline is the last thing that these nations need. The greed and pride will corrupt everyone, and destroy them from the inside out."

Both of the Akatsuki members nodded, promising to do just that. As they walked away, another figure that was invisible to everyone else watched them walk away. As it watched, a strange form began to cover its face. After a moment, a dark red energy began to encircle it as it let out a loud screech.

**Seireitei Hollow Grounds**

"This is going to totally rock!" Naruto yelled as his classmates slowly walked out onto the testing grounds. Most of the kids seemed really nervous about the test, and were conversing quite loudly as they tried to shake their nervousness off.

The reason they were at these 'Hollow Grounds' was because they were currently halfway through their fourth year. During this time, they were finally allowed to test their skills against real Hollows. There were some people who complained that real Hollows could get them killed, but the Twelfth Division didn't put much interest into the project, and subsiquentialy, they weren't able to create a Hollow gigai that could move like a real Hollow could. While this meant that this test was all the more dangerous, it was also a taste of what the real world would be like.

"I heard that Ikkaku and Yumichika did excellent when they were here." Sasuke said, glancing around the field. "Of course, they're now in Eleventh squad, which is really fitting for the two of them. Brawlers who love fighting with every bone in their bodies."

Naruto bounced on his feet, waiting to hear the instructor's instructions on what they'd need to do. "Hey Sasuke, which squad do you think you'll be on?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know; I mean, I have given it some thought. Eleventh wouldn't suite me, although I do like a good fight every now and then, Second Division just isn't where I feel I'd be, and all the others just have their own flaws. The only places I would fit in might be Fifth, Ninth, Seventh, or Thirteenth."

Naruto winced. Three of the Divisions that he'd said he'd 'fit into' were among the ones he'd labeled, 'silent and boring'. "Well, the Thirteenth Division has Kaien in it, so it wouldn't be the worst place to be, right?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know, the Ninth and Seventh Divisions both have things that I might need for later in my life. You didn't get a good feeling from Fifth, so I'm not sure that I'd fit in there. I'm just trying to figure out which places I might be." Sasuke glanced over to Naruto. "Where do you think you'll end up?"

"Who me?" Naruto asked, pointing to himself. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh…I really don't know. I mean, if Yamamoto knew about all my pranks, he probably wouldn't put me in Eleventh Division; whether I loved fighting or not. So with that in mind…I'd have to say that I really am a misfit who can't be put anywhere."

Sasuke palmed his face. "You really don't have any idea of where you might end up? Or have you simply not put any effort into thinking about it?"

Naruto shrugged. "I haven't done much thought on it to be honest. I have had too much schoolwork to do to really think about where I might end up in the next two and a half years."

Sasuke sighed. It made sense; Kaien had only promised to teach him Shunpo if he got good grades, and would only continue to teach him if he kept his grades up. As such, with the school curriculum getting harder, Naruto spent less time pulling pranks, and more time on his studies. Even Sasuke had to put a lot of focus into his studies despite the fact that he was revered as a 'genius'.

As he noticed the teachers motioning for them to gather around, he glanced over at Naruto. He didn't know what to think of him anymore; which had been happening a lot recently. People constantly called him a 'genius', or 'prodigy', but they never took notice to another prodigy. Naruto might not have gotten the best grades, but he most certainly did things that no one else might think about. Like how he'd been trying to work the first Hado to use to painfully restrain a Hollow or person so as to make sure that they didn't have any way to escape. When he'd seen one of his prototypes, he'd been shocked by the results. He'd nearly destroyed the dummies that he'd been practicing with, and a portion of the area behind them. Quite impressive…considering it was only the first Hado. When he imagined other enhanced Hado…

He shook his head. There was no need for him to think of that right now. If he was distracted, he might get killed by one of the Hollows. He glanced up, catching the last bit of what the teacher was saying. "…strap on your locators, and we'll get this started."

Naruto and Sasuke walked up and grabbed one of their locators. They were weird wristbands that had little screens on the back. The screens told how many Hollows they'd defeated, compared to how many more they'd need to pass. They were all excited, although a few of the people seemed hesitant to put the locator on.

"What's up with them?" Naruto asked, quickly strapping on his locator. "It's just E Ranked Hollows, nothing big."

Sasuke groaned. "They're not people who want to go out and fight Hollows. You know how these people are like…the pansies who don't want to fight for any reason whatsoever."

Naruto smirked. "Oh well, more for me!"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "You okay Naruto? I thought you said you didn't think you'd be in the Eleventh Division."

Naruto smirked. "Yea, but I said it wouldn't be because I dislike fighting. I love it when we fight! Our blood gets pumping, I can stretch myself to new lengths, and my thoughts become so clear; it's the best feeling ever!"

A few people around him sweat dropped. They'd never heard Naruto so enthusiastic unless it was for some new technique or ramen. And since that wasn't that often anymore, it was almost relieving to see him acting up again. It brought comfort to people's sanity.

"Shut up back there and head through the doors!" The teacher yelled, motioning to several doors that were slowly opening. The class quickly rushed through, none of them wanting to be left behind. Leading them was Naruto, who had somehow made it around the mob of students, and into the lead position in the group. Sasuke just shook his head as he raced out as well.

The field where they were at was nothing grand or spectacular. However, the Hollows that were around the place made it much more dangerous than it would normally be. drew his sword, waiting for the instructors to give them the okay. He was so going to enjoy this.

A voice came over the loudspeakers, making all of the students, and Hollows, glance upward. "Alright, you must cleanse five Hollows within the time limit. As soon as you have, you will come back through the doors. Ready, go!"

The students quickly began to disperse, jumping in random directions as they attempted to catch the Hollows off guard. The Hollows however, did notice them before they go to them, and nearly all were able to block the first strike. The only exceptions were the two which faced off against Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto laughed as he split the Hollow in half, quickly moving onto the next one. It was almost too easy for him to defeat these Hollows; they were much easier than the practice dummies that he'd practiced on back at the Shiba's house. He didn't waste any time getting to the next one, happily slicing through its arm as he moved about to attack its mask.

Sasuke on the other hand was glancing around at his classmates. He watched them struggle to land a solid strike against the Hollows; too inexperienced to understand what they needed to do. He himself wasn't any kind of expert; however, he didn't have trouble hitting the Hollows when he was on the offense. He eventually singled out a particularly strong Hollow and took chase, wanting to make sure that it didn't hurt anyone.

The instructors watched impassively as the class quickly attacked the Hollows. Each of them would react differently to the danger; some of them would react well, others…not so much. As they watched, the quickly singled out three of the strongest members of the class.

Sasuke, who had just finished off his third Hollow, was the class prodigy. It was expected of him to obtain Shikai within a short period of time after he graduated, during the academy if he could. He was proficient with Bakudo, as well as many forms of Zanjutsu. He was popular with the students, and a natural born leader. He would be an excellent addition to the shinigami ranks.

Naruto, who was currently engaged with his final Hollow, was one of the strangest people they'd ever met. He could stare down even the toughest teacher without blinking twice, and would berate them about how stupid their curriculum was. Yet, he showed constantly growing skills in the art of Hakuda, Kido, and while a more bastardized version, Zanjutsu. He was almost a jack of trades, constantly improving himself, while thinking up new ways of doing things. He would be difficult, although a stronger addition for the shinigami ranks.

Finally, there was Mizukira Sora. He was a close friend of Naruto's, and was more than willing to put his neck on the chopping block to get his friends out of trouble. He didn't have any strength in any particular subject, but that would probably change latter on during his career. He and Naruto were the closest of friends; yet not joined at the hip, as he was with Sasuke.

Naruto grimaced as he, Sasuke, and Sora walked out of the Hollow Grounds. They'd finished quickly, and would now be forced to wait for everyone else to finish up. None of them spoke as they walked over to the observation booth.

After a couple of seconds of watching, Naruto glanced over to the instructors. "Hey, do any of you guys have any popcorn?" The instructors gave him a confused glance. shrugged. "I'm just saying; these guys aren't going to do so well, so I might as well have something to eat while I'm watching them."

Sasuke shook his head. "You know, you could spend some time trying to get to know your zanpakuto spirit. Talking to him might actually help you to hear his name."

Naruto glanced away. "Yea, well…I haven't looked at him yet."

Sora chuckled. "You mean, after a year of talking to him nonstop, you still don't know what he looks like?"

Naruto grimaced. "It's not my fault! I just can't remember faces without names…or vice versa!"

Sasuke sighed. "And while you're doing that, I'm going to be even closer to hearing my zanpakuto's name." He sat down in a meditative stance, taking a deep breath. "Tell me when the exams are over."

Naruto nodded. After a moment, he glanced back out again. "This totally sucks, you know?"

Sora nodded. "I know. It is one of the few things that we can't control, and probably won't be able to for a while."

Naruto shrugged. "I guess that means that we suck…eh?" He glanced over to Sora, a big grin on his face.

Sora grinned back, an amused look in his eyes. "I wouldn't say that. I would say…we're powerless. We don't get to choose what happens; we just have to follow it till we get to the end."

"That was almost philosophical of you Sora." Naruto said, stretching himself out. After a couple of seconds, he glanced over at the instructors. "Hey, why can't we hear anything going on in there?"

One of the instructors glanced over. "We do not need to hear all of the little kids whining about how they want their mommies because they can't handle an E ranked Hollow. After a while, it becomes far too troublesome.

"So, what if someone gets seriously injured out there?"

"That would mean that they didn't train hard enough during the seven years we've given them to prepare." Another instructor said, leaning back in his chair. "Besides nothing weird or dangerous ever happens in there."

Sora glanced out the window, a curious look on his face. "So…you've never had a Hollow try to break out of here before?"

The instructor scoffed. "They never try to get out. There's so much spirit energy in there that they try to get a feast out of it."

Sora nodded. "So you've had dealings where other Hollows attempt to get in to join this feast, correct?"

"What are you talking about?" The instructor asked, setting his chair down as he glanced at Sora.

Naruto glanced out the window, noticing what Sora was talking about. "I think he means those little Hollow portals that have just shown up."

All of the instructors quickly stood up, trying to see for themselves what they were talking about. Sure enough, scattered across the training ground were several portals in which multiple Hollows were stepping out. And not all of them were E ranked.

"Holy crap…there's a D rank in there!" One of the instructors shouted, pointing at a Hollow with a monkey-like mask that had entered into the Hollow Grounds. "It's got a record, three shinigami have been killed by that Hollow! They call it the Crushing Column."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. "What?"

The instructor ignored him. "We've got to get them out of there. They won't stand a chance against something like that."

"No! We can't open the door! None of us have achieved Shikai, and we'll all be sitting ducks that it'll just take out one by one!" Another instructor shouted back.

"What are you, crazy? If we let them die, it'll be a black mark on our records; we'll never be allowed to teach again!"

"So what? At least we'll be alive! We shouldn't waste our lives because some wimps couldn't handle a scary Hollow."

"They're just academy students! What could they do against something like that!?"

As the teachers bickered amongst themselves, Sora spoke up. "Do we really have time for an argument like this?" Sora asked, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke. "People will die if something isn't done."

Sasuke nodded. "Well then, since they're indecisive, we'll have to do something about this."'

Naruto grinned. "I want the big one! He sounds like he needs to be put in his place."

The three of them rushed back out, unnoticed by their bickering instructors.

**Outside**

"Let's get this party started!" Naruto yelled as he rushed into the battle.

"Don't hold back Naruto, these guys are stronger than the ones we fought before!" Sasuke yelled, quickly rushing after him.

"Don't kill too many Naruto! I still want to get my hands on a few myself!" Sora yelled, quickly slashing at the nearest Hollow.

The three of them charged through the incoming Hollows without hesitation. Naruto, the heavy brawler, was at the point, quickly slamming into the Hollows that got in their way. Sasuke, the strategist, was quickly slashing at the Hollows that tried to attack from either side of them. Sora, a more fundamental brawler, took up the rear to catch any of the stranglers who Naruto and Sasuke missed.

The students who were fighting, and some of the stupider Hollows, stopped to watch them as the tore their way towards the center of the Hollow Grounds. They moved together, in perfect unison as they cut made their way forward. They acted as though they had done this before, each of them watching the others back. This is what their had all been for; this was what their fighting and training had prepared them to do.

Naruto let out a loud war cry as he struck another Hollow. Spinning around, he jabbed his hand towards another's mask. "Hado 31: Shakkaho (Crimson Flame Cannon)!" A burst of red energy quickly sped towards the Hollow, blowing it apart from the pressure. Naruto's grin widened. "Yea! I'm the best!"

"Naruto! Watch out!" Sora yelled, his eyes widening in surprise.

Naruto looked somewhat confused as he turned around. As he finally realized what danger he was in, it was already too late. The Crushing Column had gotten behind him, and slammed its hands into Naruto. Naruto fell under the full weight of its hands, getting slammed into the ground…hard.

"You little piece of crap!" It said, grinding its hands into Naruto's chest as he screamed out in pain. "Who do you think you are? Some kind of shinigami superhero? You're pathetic!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, rushing towards the Hollow. Swing upwards, he attempted to cleave the Hollows arm from the rest of his body. However, the Hollow saw it coming and was able to backhand Sasuke away before he could get close.

The Hollow barked and howled as he watched their classmates cower in fear. "And the other Hollows have no idea that this place exists! I will dine like a king today, and show my strength for all to see!" He continued to bark and howl as he slammed his fists into Naruto, beating on him like he was a miniature bongo.

Naruto was slowly losing consciousness, barely feeling the weight and strength of the blows anymore. As he felt himself sinking deeper within himself, he had only a few thoughts left.

_Am I going to die? Is this the end? I never even got to know…my zanpakuto's name…not even some funny nickname…I'm so stupid._

"_You're human, you make mistakes."_ His inner spirit told him, trying to give him some solace as darkness began to overcome him.

_I should…have been stronger…smarter…faster…something._

"_Rest, it's the only thing you can do for now. Your friends will take care of the rest."_

Seeing their friend in trouble, Sora and Sasuke roared as the slammed into the Hollow, knocking it away from Naruto. Not even bothering to use their swords, they kicked the Hollow as far away as they could get it.

Sasuke glanced at the students who were still in the area. "Everyone! Get out of here now! You need to get back to the entrance and get out of here, otherwise you'll die! Please, move!"

They didn't need a second warning, as the students quickly made their way out of the area. Some of the Hollows tried to follow, but were cut off by Sora, who was jumping in and out of them to make sure they made it off safely.

Sasuke took a shaky breath as he turned back to the Crushing Column, who was just getting up. "Now that all the distractions are out of the way…let's dance."

Sasuke and the Hollow charged at each other, each of them trying to land a blow on the other. Sasuke would swing with perfect, fast strikes that would only miss by the smallest margins. The Hollow on the other hand, simply tried to smash Sasuke whenever he could. It was only due to Kaien's training and a few timely Shunpo's that he was able to hold his own.

Sasuke panted as the battle began to wear on. He wasn't sure how long they'd been fighting anymore. But if it continued, he wouldn't make it. Growling, he used a quick Shunpo to get within the Hollows guard. Unable to do anything, it could only widen its eyes in surprise as Sasuke hacked of one of its legs.

Sasuke grinned in triumph. He'd finally gotten a hit on the Hollow, he could fight it. Now, he could win.

However, as he turned around, he realized that something was wrong. The Hollow wasn't moving in for a counter strike. In fact, it wasn't behind him at all anymore. After he'd struck it, it had somehow managed to make its way towards Naruto. His eyes widened as he quickly counted the amount of steps it would take to get to him. I'm not going to make it!

Using a quick burst of speed, he rushed after the Hollow, hoping and praying that he wouldn't be too late. But as he neared it, he saw the Hollow launching its head forward, preparing to eat Naruto's soul._ NO! After all this time, am I so weak? Will I really just let him die!? NO!!!_

Just as he was about to yell out some kind of Kido, another blur suddenly shot in front of Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened, as he watched a torrent of blood suddenly burst from in front of the Hollow. For a second, he felt relief; that someone had gotten the Hollow before it had gotten Naruo. But as the Hollow backed up, he realized the cost for Naruto's life as Sora's body suddenly went limp and collapsed in a wrecked heap.

Sasuke continued his rush over to Sora, ignoring the Hollow as it simply gave him a curious look. "Sora!"

"Hey…Sasuke." Sora said, a distant look in his eyes as he glanced up at him. "How are you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Baka! You're dying!"

"Is that what this is? Funny, it doesn't feel like dying to me." Sora said, his voice cracking as he chuckled. "I feel like I've just tried to stop Naruto from getting in line at an all you can eat ramen stand."

Sasuke laughed, trying to understand why Sora was as peaceful as he was. "Hey, if you're dying…do you want any…last words?"

Sora nodded. "Yea…I'd like that. Could you tell Naruto…that ramen will stunt his growth if he eats it all the time? No one…seems to have the guts...to tell him."

Sasuke nodded. "Don't worry, I'll tell him."

"And could you tell Sasuke…he doesn't need to be afraid." Sora said, coughing up a little blood as he continued talking. "He doesn't need to be afraid…of making friends. Just tell him…he's put a lot of effort into them…and he shouldn't waste something…so…precious…"

Sasuke blinked, trying to understand what Sora had just said. After a couple of seconds, he reached a hand up to his neck. Not feeling a pulse, he felt tears well up. Sora…was dead.

"Oh, how touching. To bad I don't have a heart to feel for you." The Hollow said, laughing at the sight. "You shinigami are all way to sentimental! One of you dies, and your whole world goes to hell."

Sasuke slowly stood up, his eyes shadowing the upper portion of his face. "You know, I didn't know Sora as well as the next guy. But there's something you should know…"

The Hollows eyes widened as Sasuke's reiatsu suddenly began to spike, the golden coloration whirling around violently, forming around his blade as he suddenly glanced up. "He was one of the people that I found to be of worth! He had merit where it counted!" He swung his sword forward. "Now, I'll show you what that means!"

As his reiatsu continued to spike, his zanpakuto spirit suddenly appeared behind him. _"Do you hear…anything?"_

Sasuke nodded. _I hear…everything. I can see…everything._

"_Are you afraid of this Hollow?"_

Sasuke gritted his teeth._ I'm not afraid of scum like that!_

He could almost feel the approval that was coming from within himself. _"Then it is time. Hear me Uchiha! My name is…"_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as he slowly began to speak. "Higyou za yama… (_Strike the mountains_)"

**Inside the observation booth**

"What's going on in here?"

The instructors jumped at the sudden intrusion. They nearly asked who it was, until they realized that they were facing three captains. "Oh, Kuchiki-taicho, Unohana-taicho, Ukitake-taicho, what brings you here?"

"Some of your students came and got us." Ukitake said, glancing out into the field. "They said something about a dangerous Hollow in the Hollow Grounds, and that there were some injured people who needed help." He smiled at them as he continued. "Sorry it took us a while, there weren't any Forth Division members around and it took a while to find Unohana-san."

"It's quite alright Taicho." The instructor said, quickly bowing to the three of them.

"So, what appears to be the problem?" Unohana asked, glancing at the instructors.

"Well…during our training exercise, a D ranked Hollow entered the arena. We tried to get the door opened, but there were so many Hollows on the other side that we couldn't–"

"We understand. You were afraid that the Hollows would get you as well." Ukitake said, cutting the instructor off. "However, I would like to hear the rest of the real story."

"Uh…we were arguing about whether or not we should help the students and risk our careers either way, three of our students who had already passed the exam opened the door and went out."

"Wait, are you telling us that you let three of your students handle what you should have done?" Byakuya said, trying to better understand what he'd just heard. Teachers were requiring help from their students?

"Um…yes?" One of the instructors said, sheepishly glancing at the ground. "They snuck out on us before we came to a decision."

"And that was?" Unohana asked, glancing at all of them.

Another one of the instructors glanced down sheepishly. "Uh…watch them try and to figure out how they would handle a really tough Hollow." When he saw the captains shocked expressions, he quickly decided to explain. "They'd reacted too quick for us to do anything but watch. Plus, they were actually doing a really good job."

"Were?" Byakuya said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yea, about that." One of the instructors said, glancing out the window. "It looks like two of them just died."

"What!?" Ukitake shouted, quickly moving to the window to see for himself. Outside, the scene was not comforting. Sora had the front portion of his chest torn apart, leaving most of his body open for the world to see. Naruto was lying motionless on the ground, a few ribs poking out of his chest, slightly staining his clothes. And Sasuke was trying to stand up against the largest Hollow there, along with all of the other Hollows in the immediate area. "We need to get in there, now!"

As the instructors fumbled along, trying to open the doors, a bright flash suddenly illuminated the area. The three captains looked on, noticing the power surge that had suddenly come from within the area. After a moment, when the dust died down, what they saw shocked them.

"Did you know he could…?" Byakuya asked, glancing over to Ukitake.

Ukitake shook his head. "This is the first time I've seen it. To be honest, it suites him."

Unohana nodded. "It seems like we will be getting an excellent recruit to our ranks a little earlier than expected."

All three of them nodded as they watched Sasuke reengage his battle with the Hollow.

**Hollow Grounds**

"…Raikiri (_Lightning Edge_)!" Sasuke roared as he and his sword were enveloped in reiatsu.

His sword glowed brightly as it began to morph into its new shape, expelling so much reiatsu that it kicked up a giant dome of dirt as it glowed, obscuring the view of almost everyone. As the dust finally settled, Sasuke emerged from within, wielding his blade's new form.

Its blade was almost as long as before, being twice as thick as a normal blade, and pitch black in color. The blade was greatly curved, with a great deal of metal supporting the back edge. Its guard had been replaced with something that resembled a little ball of dark fur, giving it a demonic, powerful feeling. The swords grip had also changed, extending to at least three feet in length of darkened wood. At the end of the blade was a long, tightly bound, almost whip-like piece of leather. It looked like a bastardized naginata in all respects. Longer than he was tall, Sasuke carried it through the dust with a fire in his eyes that would make many other people back away in fear. He was a man out for justice.

"Round two." Sasuke said, quickly rushing towards his foe.

The Crushing Column tried to backpedal as it saw Sasuke charge forward. Gone was the boy that he knew he could easily crush. In his place…was a monster, a demon of sorts. Simply the raw energy was giving him a difficult time moving. He was beyond fear. He'd crossed that the moment Sasuke had finished speaking. No, he was terrified; of what this monster would do to him once he got his hands on him.

Sasuke leapt into the air, his blade in both hands as he swung down. While he didn't look it anymore, he was tired. And releasing Shikai was more exhausting than many people would like to believe it to be. All that power and no control over any of it. Sasuke grimaced as the Hollow jumped back, avoiding his blow. He wasn't going to be able to hold it back much longer.

"Sorry, I've got to end this now." Sasuke said, quickly rushing forward.

"W-wait! You don't know what you're –!" The Crushing Column managed to get out, before Sasuke suddenly unleashed everything that he'd been holding back. The resounding explosion shook the entire room, blowing what could have at one point in time been called the Crushing Column into tiny pieces.

Sasuke struggled for breath as he slammed his sword into the ground. He needed to stay up, to keep fighting. He was on his last leg, and wouldn't be able to do much, but it would be more than if he fell asleep.

Hearing a low growl from behind him, he slowly turned around. His eyes widened as he saw a Hollow trying to make its way over to Naruto, who was still unconscious.

"No!" He shouted, pulling his sword from the ground and chucking it at the Hollow. It quickly sped towards it, catching it completely off guard as it slammed through its mask. After a moment, the blade reverted back to its normal katana shape, and the Hollow disappeared. Sasuke grimaced, realizing that he was now an open target for all of the Hollows in the room. "Well, I guess this is it."

"Yes it is."

Sasuke tried to turn around, but a sudden, sharp pain that suddenly shot through his side stopped him. He glanced down, seeing a Hollows claw sticking through his stomach. He coughed, a small amount of blood following the violent upheaval.

Damn…this is the end. I wasn't strong enough, was I? I hope that I'll see everyone…in whatever comes after this dump. Sayonara Naruto…Kaien…minna…

"Chire, Senbonzakura (_Scatter, Thousand Cherry Blossoms_)!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as he heard the voice shout out such a foreign phrase. He felt something behind him cutting through the Hollow, and the claw in his stomach disappeared. He coughed again, feeling the violent pain suddenly shooting through him as a sudden pressure began to crash on him. Finally at his limit, he collapsed.

Unohana glanced at Sasuke, as she summoned her zanpakuto as well. "You did good boys. Now, rest."

**Captain's Meeting**

As the captains meeting came to order, Yamamoto slowly sat up. "Kurotsuchi Mayuri, please step forward."

There were twelve very displeased glares as the captain of the Twelfth division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, stood in the center of the room. He glanced between the different captains, not bothering to cover up the fact that he didn't want to be there.

"Kurotsuchi, this is why we've been telling you to get your people working on the project. That way, we wouldn't have any injuries…or loses. You've put this off for long enough."

Kurotsuchi gave Yamamoto an uninterested glance. "I would, it's just that I don't have the time with all the other research that I've been doing. Plus, if I don't finish this research, then the Seireitei could easily –"

"Enough of your excuses. If we don't have shinigami who can handle those problems in the future, than there would be no point to your current projects." Ukitake said, almost glaring at Kurotsuchi. He had seen what Kurotsuchi had been working on, and had been disgusted. To think that he was trying to experiment on his own body, it wasn't a pretty sight.

Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow. "Eh? Is someone getting a little sentimental over the lost of a washout or two?"

Ukitake glare continued, but he showed no signs of answering. Kurotsuchi almost sent another barb, but was cut off by Toshiro. "I don't understand why you haven't just gotten it done. It's not like you don't have the time, or that the project is difficult. You're simply lazy on matters that you are ordered to perform. Isn't that right?"

Kurotsuchi glared at Toshiro. "What would a little brat like you know about what goes on in the Twelfth division?"

"I know a lot considering everyone dumps their paperwork on my desk every day. It would be nice if I could see the light of day every now and then for reasons other than captains meetings." Toshiro said, getting apologetic glances from the other captains. "Besides, you almost never do anything out of the goodness of your heart. You would set up a defense just so that you would know where the flaws were so that you could take advantage of them and obtain more experimental materials. Isn't that right?"

Kurotsuchi glared at Toshiro. "You've got a big mouth, boy. If I recall, I've helped save countless lives through some of the new technology that I've created. Many more lives would have been lost to Hollow attacks that they wouldn't have seen coming."

Before Toshiro could retaliate, Yamamoto spoke up. "Enough. This argument is pointless. You will complete the task that I have given you, or else I will remove you from the Twelfth Division."

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened. It was unheard of for someone to be removed from a captain's seat. Retired, or killed, but never removed. It was unheard of. "You can't do that!"

"By all rights, you simply inherited your position from the previous captain. While it is true that you have been able to perform Bankai, I should point out that you were never submitted to take the captains exams. If you do not finish what you're supposed to, I can remove you from your position, as well as prevent you from taking the exam in the future."

Kurotsuchi glanced at Yamamoto, grimacing as he realized that the Sotaicho was not joking around this time. He let out an angry sigh. "Very well…Genryuusai-sotaicho."

As he walked out, a few of the captain heard him muttering to himself. "I swear, I'll find out who's nearly ruined me…and they will pay."

Yamamoto ignored the comment as he turned back to the captains. "Now, there is a small matter on the topic of Uchiha Sasuke and the release of his Shikai…"

Nearly an hour later, the meeting was finally adjourned. For now, Sasuke would be moved to a place where he could better train his new abilities without harming anyone else. It was for the good of everyone that this be done.

As the other captains began to walk out, one of them stayed behind, giving Yamamoto a meaningful glance. After the last person had left, and the doors closed behind them, Yamamoto walked over to a tea table. "Would you like some tea for out discussion, Unohana-san?"

Unohana shook her head. "No, this will only take but a moment. I merely have a few questions as to this object that I found on one of the students we pulled from the Hollow Grounds."

As she spoke, she placed an item on Yamamoto's desk. With an almost curious gleam in his eyes, he slowly picked it up. "Where did you say you got this?"

"As I said before, from one of the boys which fought in the Hollows Grounds today." She pulled a file from her kimono, showing it to Yamamoto. "Here's the one it was pulled from, as well as a file on how badly injured they were from the battle."

Yamamoto nodded, slowly glancing over the file. After a moment, he sighed. "I thought this was all behind us. I suppose that history does have a habit of repeating itself. But then…it's been a long time since something like this has happened." He glanced up at Unohana, waving for her to leave.

Unohana bowed lightly before leaving the room. As she left, Yamamoto turned back to the object. He slowly turned it over in his hands as he slowly spoke. "How very interesting. Perhaps this is a good omen. But then, news like this cannot be good. For now, I will wait, and watch the events that are sure to unfold."

**Hospital**

Naruto's head was pounding as he slowly regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was a Hollow, suddenly slamming its fist into his chest. He tried to open his eyes, but quickly forced them shut when the light suddenly seemed brighter than before. After another couple of moments, he forced his eyes completely open.

He was in a hospital, there was little question of that. He was dressed in his normal kimono, but the top portion had been removed for a white version. He smiled as he felt the bandages wrapped around his chest; someone had taken care of his wounds. It had been a long time since he'd had something like that happen. Not since Sarutobi had been around, and during the latter portion of his life. He winced as he suddenly felt like something within him was burning. It was a strange feeling, like a hot knife was being buried within his gut, slowly removing itself before once again plunging into him, carving out something that he couldn't understand. In the back of his mind, he swore he heard his zanpakuto spirit mumbling something, but it was too faint for him to make out what was being said.

As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he began to make out several different images. On one side of him, sitting in a chair directly in between him and the person in the other bed was a lone figure.

"Hey Naruto, you're finally up."

Naruto blinked, his head whirling as he tried to focus on the person. As soon as he noticed he spoke up, his voice coming out in a raspy hiss. "K…Kaien?"

Kaien grinned. "Yep, I'm here little man."

Naruto groaned, a crushing pain shooting through his head. "I've asked you…to stop calling me that."

Kaien shrugged. "You're in no condition to force me to do otherwise. Besides, I wanted to give Sasuke some good news. He's already heard it, but I figured you'd want to know too."

Naruto perked up. "W…what news?"

"He's being moved from the academy!" Kaien said, throwing his hands in the air. "While fighting the Hollows, he unlocked his Shikai and used it to defend you."

"Really?" Naruto said, looking over to the other bed. Sasuke was lying there, staring off into space. "Good job…teme."

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke said, a small hint of anger in his voice. Naruto blinked in shock as Sasuke continued. "You don't even know how bad this is!"

"What…what do you mean?"

Kaien spoke up, trying to keep Sasuke from yelling anymore. "It means that he won't be in the academy anymore. He's been moved directly to the Thirteenth Division for further assessment."

Naruto gasped, motioning for some water. After Kaien handed him a glass, he swallowed a little, moistening his throat. Then, trying to add some comedic relief, he spat out the water, spraying it over the foot of his bed. "What do you mean that he's being moved to the Thirteenth Division!?"

Kaien chuckled nervously. "He's going to leave the hospital, same as you. It's just, he'll be leaving with me to go to the division and get some training. Apparently, he's got a lot of potential, and people want to see it moved in a good direction."

Sasuke looked away from the ceiling, finally revealing his face to Naruto. His eyes were red, and swollen. It actually took a minute to realize that he'd been crying. "Uh…what's the matter Sasuke?"

Sasuke grimaced as he scowled, reminding Naruto of the old, angry Sasuke. "The last thing Sora said to me was to not fear making friends. But now, I'm going to lose those same friends. I've been awake for a while, and have begun to list the people who I really care about. After a while, I realized there are people whose names I don't even know who I've gotten to know. Naruto…I'm scared."

"What happened to Sora?" Naruto asked, glancing between his two friends. Noticing his friend's downtrodden looks, he figured out what Sasuke had meant. "Is he…not here anymore?"

Kaien nodded. "They had his funeral while you guys were out...three days ago. You in particular were out for nearly the whole week. You're lucky to be alive."

Sasuke glanced away from the two of them. "I guess it really doesn't matter any more. He's dead…nothing can change that."

Naruto slowly sat up, ignoring the pulsing pain in his chest. "Sasuke, there's a little something that I heard once…I'm not really sure where anymore. Do you want to hear it?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Go ahead."

Naruto smiled. "It takes a lot of time, patients, and strength to make a friend or begin a relationship. However, to betray and to break those bonds is a lot easier, and is sometimes seen more as a strength than the weakness it is. However, once those bonds are created, they weaken if you let them remain as they are. You need to continually reach out, but always remember those other people who are your friends. And if one of them passes, they will always remain with you; bonded to the core of your soul."

Kaien grinned as he glanced between the two of them. They were truly like brothers, connected in a way that no one else could completely comprehend. It was amazing how they were able to keep each other up, making sure that the other was right behind them. It was a brotherhood that he'd never seen before, not even between himself and Ganju. It was refreshing to see two people who hated each other to each others core could act so well when they wanted too.

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto slowly, unbelief in his eyes. "You remember all of that, but you can't remember how to mold your reiatsu for combinations of Bakudo?"

There was silence.

Then, "I'll kill you Sasuke-teme!"

"Bring it on dobe!"

"Both of you stop fighting! We're in the middle of a hospital!" Kaien yelled, trying to get the two boys to settle down before…

"Kaien! I expected better of a vice-captain!" Unohana said, walking into the room.

Kaien blinked. "But they…"

"Yea Kaien, there are injured people here!" Naruto said, crossing his arms as he shook his head. Kaien's mouth dropped as he glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly mimicked Naruto's pose. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"But…"

"That's enough. Please leave for now; visiting hours are over." Unohana led the distraught Kaien out the door, quietly closing it behind them.

After a couple of seconds, both Naruto and Sasuke burst out laughing. Naruto wiped away a small tear that was starting to fall down his cheeks. "That was priceless!"

Sasuke glanced over to Naruto, reaching his fist towards him. "Hey, friends?"

Naruto looked at the fist curiously before finally punching it. "Yea, friends." Naruto grinned. "Besides, it could have been a lot worse. You could have been placed in Tousen or Aizen's division."

Sasuke shuddered. "Don't even make me think about it. Without someone to make some noise, I think I'd go insane!"

Naruto smirked, punching a fist into the air. "The curse of Uzumaki Naruto strikes again!"

"Dude, you're bleeding."

Naruto glanced at himself, noticing the red stain that was suddenly growing on his chest. When he'd punched his fist into the air, he'd reopened his wounds. "Well, I guess I am."

As he passed out from the sudden pain, Sasuke groaned. "It's going to be hard without a dobe like you…but then, I pity the fool who gets you. They're going to have their hands full trying to keep you in line. But I will admit, if they don't kill you in the first month, I'm going to be a very rich man. Those fools never knew what hit them." Sasuke cackled as he though of the academy students who'd bet against him. They really had no idea how resilient Naruto was, and they would pay for that mistake.

**A/N: Wow! Over 100 reviews! That makes me so happy!**

**Now, for the poll:**

**Soi Fon: 23**

**Yoruichi: 21**

**Neliel: 7**

**And Soi Fon is the winner! I'm not that great at making romance or stuff like that, but I'll give it a whirl.**

**Also, whoever sent the reviews asking for Naruto/Harem, please don't do that again. It was really annoying to see the same message repeatedly. I just don't do harems. To many women for one guy. Heck, I'm barely holding onto my **_**one**_** girl. How's Naruto supposed to hold onto more than that?**

**I know that it's really soon, but who liked Sasuke's Shikai? Don't get any crazy ideas...but try to figure out what its ability is! :P**

**Finally, Kento Namikaze, it was more the ability that you mentioned than the sword idea. Plus, I'm planning on amping it if I give Naruto a Bankai.**

**Review!**

**Thank you,**

_Draco Kamikaze_


	6. Chapter 6

"Speech"

**Scene Change(centered)**

_"Inner Spirit Speech"_

_Thoughts_

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

Naruto stood still, motionless as his eyes darted back and forth. He took a slow, even breathe as he considered his options. He was surrounded; there was no question about that. But how to get out? His mind quickly began to process what was going on as he felt the people surrounding him finally began to move.

Two blurs shot out of the surrounding forest, attempting to catch him off guard. Expecting both them and the strike, Naruto jumped into the air, flipping around to get on top of them before they realized their target was missing.

Just as he'd planned, they tried to stop before completely reaching him, but it was too late. Naruto landed behind them on his toes, twisting his body around towards the first person he planned on taking out. Naruto ducked down, sweeping the person's feet from under him. The person landed with a loud grunt a few feet away.

Naruto squared off against the next person, waiting for him to make the first move. He watched closely, trying to determine what his next course of action was. Seeing a small twitch in his opponent's movements, he jumped back. Pulling a practice sword from his belt, he dashed around the person, trying to find an open angle that he could strike from.

The person watched also, trying to figure out how he'd get an edge in the fight. Naruto had very few holes in his defense, and wouldn't be easy to catch off guard. After a second, he slid into a defensive stance that should be able to face anything Naruto threw at him.

Suddenly, he heard a small snap from behind him, he quickly glanced around. At the very last second, he realized his mistake, and found himself face to face with Naruto's 'blade'. Naruto unleashed a small burst of reiatsu from the tip of the practice sword, knocking his opponent onto the ground. He then knelt on his chest, holding his blade over his opponents head.

Sighing, he raised his hands in defeat. "I give up."

Naruto grinned getting off him. "You're getting better Hanataro. You'll probably be one of the strongest members of the Fourth division that they've ever seen. Of course, your healing skills are just as good; you'll be able to beat anyone who gets in your way, and then heal them for later."

Hanataro grinned sheepishly. "I'm not that great Naruto. I just get lucky and catch you off guard sometimes."

"No, that's what you'd like to think." Naruto said, waving a finger at him. "I leave those gaps open, to see how many times you'd see them and take advantage. So far, you've gotten a little more than half of them. That's better than any other of our classmates."

Hanataro nodded. "I know, but I'm still only able to get you half the time, and only when you're letting me. I just…I feel so weak."

Naruto grinned. "Who said I'm letting you hit me? I just said my guard was down, not that I slowed down my movements or anything…well, not by much. You've actually been getting through the all by yourself."

As they spoke, a few of their classmates slowly began to walk out into the field, all talking and laughing as they ended their training session. Naruto smiled as they all waved good-bye, waving back as he watched them fade away. Hanataro glanced at Naruto before following everyone else, realizing that Naruto wanted to be alone.

As the rest of his classmates walked away, Naruto stood back, waiting to be alone. After a moment, he slowly pulled his sword from its sheath. He mentally pictured his zanpakuto spirit, glancing at it as he spoke. "You gonna tell me your name yet?"

"_The day I sprout wings, or when you actually understand something someone tells you Kiroi-chan. Of course, you could just have Sasuke kick the crap out of you…again."_

Naruto pouted. "Gama-san, that's mean."

He heard a small chuckle in the back of his head. After the incident on the Hollow Grounds, he'd finally turned around and looked at his zanpakuto spirit for the first day. To say that it was surprising was an understatement. However, it was also quite funny. He couldn't stop laughing at it for a week, due to the fact that the irony was both cruel and amusing.

His inner spirit was a large frog, just a little bit larger than him, Sasuke, and Kaien. His skin was dark green in color, which seemed to almost blend into the forest. He wore a strange kind of scarf that he told him was made up of tightly bound reiraku (_Spiritual Thread_), which came below his mouth, letting it flap freely in the wind. He also wore a raggedy, dark brown vest with the kanji for 'shield' written on a white patch on his left breast pocket, and the kanji for 'blade' on his right breast pocket. He was constantly smoking from a short pipe, similar to the one that Gamabunta used to smoke when he was alive. He had raggedy scars all over his face and chest, giving him the appearance of a seasoned warrior. Finishing his look, there were heavy leather bindings that went down his arms from his elbow to his hands. He also had some kind of weird sword strapped to his back, but when Naruto asked, he only told Naruto that it was what his zanpakuto would look like once he'd heard his name. He could never understand how his zanpakuto spirit could be so stubborn. Maybe it was just his imagination.

After discussing it with him for a moment, he decided not to ask his name just yet, and settled for calling him Gama-san. It was both disrespectful, as he did not like being called a toad, yet a somewhat nice way to speak to him. Of course, that was nothing compared to him calling Naruto Kiroi-chan all the time. He was _not_ some blonde.

After a moment, he walked over to the base of a tree where his sword lay. Taking a moment to slip it into his belt, he walked back a ways in front of the nearest tree. He rolled his shoulders, sliding into a stance as he took a small breath as he placed his hands on the hilt of his sword. After a second, he focused on a small leaf that he mentally targeted. As he waited for it to fall, he inwardly groaned. It was never fun to wait for the leaves to fall, but it helped him to settle into his form a lot easier than if he were just randomly swinging his sword around.

Time slowly went by, and the leaf remained where it was. Naruto stood still, not budging an inch as he continued to wait. While he waited, he decided to have a conversation in his head to pass the time.

_So Gama-san, what do you think of my latest Hado improvement? Cool huh? It'll be stronger than anything anyone's ever seen!_

He heard Gama sigh before he spoke. _"You're doing great kid, but the Hado has way too many things that could go wrong."_

_It's just a giant ball of whirling energy; how could things possibly go wrong?_

"_Well, you're trying to contain all that energy by yourself, and you don't have the power to do so all the time. There _way_ too much energy that isn't being contained, and that loose energy could easily get you and anyone around you killed. Plus, if you lose focus, you'll have wasted all that energy for nothing."_

_Well it worked last time, didn't it? It's not perfect, but it'll be really good once it's been completed. And since I don't see any way to use my Kage Bunshin's anymore, it's going to have to work as it is._

"…_any new thoughts on that?"_

_No. There are a lot of things that I could possibly do to get my old abilities back. Manipulating my reiatsu this way, or that way until I finally find something hasn't ever been a bad thing before. But I stopped thinking about them a long time ago._

"_How come?"_

_Because, I didn't learn any cool jutsu beyond the Rasengan. If I did, I _might_ be persuaded to figure it out, but there's nothing I can do. Besides that, it would take up too much of my time to try and figure it –_

"_The leaf is moving."_

Naruto narrowed his eyes as a small breeze began to move the leaf. It held onto the tree, not wanting to fall down just then, but was unsuccessful as it finally began to fall. As it fell, Naruto took a deep breath. "Showtime."

As soon as the leaf was eye level, he moved forward. To any other normal person, he was now just a blur that was moving across the fields. As he got closer, he drew his blade from its sheath and swung his blade, cleaving the leaf perfectly in half. In doing this motion, he sent a small surge of wind that blew into the trees, knocking off more of the leaves into the breeze. Naruto jumped into the middle of the whirlwind of leaves as he continued his first motion on them.

It all became a blur for him from then on. He saw each of the leaves, and moved to them with a precise movement that split them all symmetrically in half. He wasted too much energy for his liking, but he was working on it. Within a couple of moments, he was once again standing in the center of the field, two halves of each fallen leaf floating around him.

"It's almost poetic." Naruto said with a small grin on his face. It was always amazing to see how everything moved, how everything had such similar movements that varied only slightly. Everything was completely connected to each other. It was truly poetry in motion.

Suddenly a voice came from behind him. "If this is poetry, then what is the message? What are you getting from watching this?"

Naruto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I guess the message is…unity. As a part of the tree, or world we are all connected. Yet at the same time we are the individual leaves, individuals who help support each other as we live our lives As soon as we let go of the tree, we become targets for the rest of the world. This makes others fall down as well, as they are hit by the shock of the first person's actions. This continues till there's someone who's strong enough to hold on, and keep the rest from falling away from the tree. That's what I think it means."

Behind him, the person raised an eyebrow in surprise. _What the heck? He got all that from watching falling leaves? I've never heard of anything like that before. It's not that great…but relatable in a few ways._

"Is that all? I would expect something better from you. Something more…creative." She said, trying to see if there was anything else to his interpretation.

Naruto chuckled, lightly scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you. But, not everything can be said in the moment. When given only a few moments notice, I'll think of the first thing that comes to my mind and go with it. It's kind of funny how my mind works in a split second; jumping from the situation to the interpretation. Most people think that makes me crazy and gets me hurt, but I'm only trying to do things to help everyone else."

The person glared at a Naruto's back. "We'll meet again."

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, and he turned around. Seeing that no one was there, he groaned. "What the heck? Wait…that couldn't have been anyone I know. So, if that wasn't Gama-san, and it wasn't one of the academy students who'd followed me again than who was it? Gah! Even in this life, I keep getting stalkers! Why do you hate me Kami?!?!"

**Captain's Meeting**

Yamamoto glanced around the room. He held up a pair of folders, making sure that that the attention was on him.

"Where are we going to put these last few graduates?" Yamamoto asked, glancing between the captains. They were looking through the list of graduating students, and choosing where they'd end up. So far they'd gotten most of it done, and only two people were left.

"Yamato Hanataro, yes he has become somewhat difficult to place." Kyouraku said, sighing as he sat back. "Before he entered the academy, he would have immediately been placed in Unohana's division due to his talent in medical Kido. However, after observing his behaviors during the last few years of the academy, we must assume that at times he enjoys fighting. Not like some of the die hard Eleventh Division members, but close enough."

Unohana sighed. "It doesn't matter whether or not he is predisposed to fight; it is the strengths he has that truly matter. And he excelled in the field of medical Kido, not quite like some of my better members, but he'll learn in time."

"But he likes fighting. Doesn't that clash with what you do? Being someone who heals others, hurting others?" Kenpachi asked, his usual grin somewhat elongated as he looked over at Unohana.

"He only enjoys the moment of battle, because he enjoys that he is able to show how well he can defend himself." Unohana stated, not budging from her position. She turned to Yamamoto. "Please allow him to be placed in my squad."

"Request granted." Yamamoto said, motioning for a scribe to write 'fourth' besides Hanataro's name. As soon as he'd done this, Yamamoto glanced at the last name. "Finally, we have Uzumaki Naruto. He barely passed most of his theory classes, and came close to failing his History class every year. He has the ability to perform most Kido without the chants, but is rather weak in Bakudo. He has come quite a ways with his Zanjutsu, defeating his teachers on more than one occasion. The same for Hakuda, although he has shown greater interest in learning the intricate moves that come from learning Zanjutsu. Also, he was _the_ fastest member of his class in Hoho, outrunning and overlapping everyone many times while he was there. Some have suggested that he has even gone so far as to begin learning Shunpo, which would make him quite versatile in battle. He has been getting a little tutoring from Shiba Kaien, and has improved constantly."

There was a slight murmur that went through the captains. Everyone had met Naruto at one point or another, on more than one occasion if they could help it. None of them could say they _knew_ him as well as some of the other students might have, but they understood what he was capable of. He had a lot of potential, and the division that got him would be getting a powerful new member of their ranks.

After a moment, Kurotsuchi spoke up. "I'd like him in my division. He's got nothing for History, but that really doesn't matter in our line of work. Plus, I've still got something for him to help me with."

His eyes narrowed darkly as he thought about Naruto. He'd reviewed the different tapes of the Hollow Grounds incident, and had determined that if Naruto hadn't gotten himself into the situation that he had, he wouldn't have been placed in a position that slowed his work down by several months as he organized and created the Hollow replicas. He had plans for Naruto…and none of them were good. Simply put, it would involve hours of till his soul nearly split in half. It would be quite fun for him to see how well his serums worked on other people.

"I disagree." Ukitake said, his eyes closed as though he were in deep thought. "Kurotsuchi has a vendetta against Naruto-san, and will more than likely bring harm to him should he be placed in his division. We need to place him in a place where his talents can be expanded."

While Kurotsuchi growled at him, Yamamoto nodded. "I see. What is it that you have in mind then?"

"I was thinking of having him in my division. He knows more than a few people there, and his skills are most definitely suited for my division. He works well with others, and is able to organize them no matter how difficult the circumstances."

Kurotsuchi continued to glare at him. "Don't you already have a person who can do all that? Someone by the name of Uchiha Sasuke? The seventh seated officer if I recall."

Ukitake nodded. "It is true that Sasuke is a natural leader as well, and his power is continually growing. However, Naruto is the kind of leader you would want to lead you in any situation, no matter how difficult it is. His mind processes things in a different, unique way that allows him to perform seemingly suicidal tactics that are always realized as the best situation in the end. Sasuke is better at analyzing first to get a better out come, a more political mindset if you would. He would be an excellent strategist for before a battle, while Naruto could compile everyone's strengths in his head and use them correctly for the situation."

Kyouraku nodded. "That does sound about right. He would probably be better suited for the Thirteenth Division than for most of the others. If he were placed in one like mine, Tousen's, or Aizen's, he'd be bored by the lack of activity. He is a man of action, and should be respected as one."

"But his headless actions can get many people injured." Tousen interjected, obviously put out that he'd been drawn into the conversation. "He is one that Zaraki would enjoy having around, simply because he follows paths that have more pain and suffering than any other possibly path."

"You and that stupid belief." Zaraki growled, scratching his neck. "Besides, he isn't really that good for my division. He wouldn't fit in very well seeing as, according to his records, he sees no qualms about using Kido in a battle to injure his opponents from a distance."

"You'd fight him anyway given the chance though, wouldn't you?" Ukitake asked, glancing towards Zaraki.

Zaraki grinned. "Of course. Such fighting spirit should be put to good use." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if he'll be able to hear the bells. I can't wait till I can fight him."

Yamamoto ignored most of the sidebar conversations as he glanced back at Naruto's folder. He was quite difficult to place, and wouldn't fit into most of the divisions. They were all to quiet for his liking, and he'd probably get into so much mischief that his captain would eventually try and hurt him. All things considering, he really didn't need for his people to be hurt because they were too stupid to keep their mouths shut.

As he glanced over the first page, he noticed something odd about Naruto's file. It was much, _much_ thicker than any other file he'd ever seen, even from people who'd eventually gotten into Eleventh Division. As he began to flip through the pages, a small smile and groan escaped him.

The next nineteen papers, front and back, were all accusations of different things that he'd supposedly done. Whether it was putting colored dye into the showers making people show up to class in different colors, or the seventy different accusations of him setting off fireworks throughout the halls to chase after people, they all had a trend to them. None of them had a point where they actually proved that Naruto was the culprit. Of course, since he'd still been accused, it was still on file for him to look over.

"What's the matter Genryuusai-dono?" Komamura asked, his helmet barely turning towards him as he spoke. He'd heard Yamamoto's groan, and was somewhat curious as to why he would do such a thing.

"Simple." Yamamoto said, passing around Naruto's folder. As each individual got the folder, they were initially confused. But the moment they turned to all the different accusations, their reactions varied.

"He did what?" Ukitake said, his eye widening at some of the things that Naruto had done.

"Interesting kid." Kurotsuchi said, not really caring either way as he passed it on.

"I think our fight would be quite interesting should he pull out any of these skills." Zaraki said, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Dang, and I thought Matsumoto was troublesome." Hitsugaya said, glancing over the long list before passing it on.

"…could someone tell me what it says?" Tousen said as he got the folder, waving his hand in front of his face. After one of Yamamoto's secretaries came over a whispered what some of the things said into his ears, he raised an eyebrow. "That's…quite interesting."

"And people used to say that _I_ was a troublemaker." Kyouraku exclaimed, pleased to see that Naruto had a 'rap sheet' that put many others to shame.

Sajin just shook his head before passing it on.

"Uh…are you sure that this person passed the graduation exams? It would take a lot of time to perform _half_ of these within a ten year period." Byakuya said, his normally emotionless voice clearly displaying copious amounts of confusion and discomfort. Naruto had done some things that were simply…interesting.

"I see." Aizen said, passing it on. As the attention was diverted away from him, his eyes took on an almost malicious look as he watched the folder move on.

"Well, this does explain some of the interesting people we've gotten. Perhaps Hanataro will be stronger than expected." Unohana said, shaking her head as she passed the folder on.

Soi Fon skimmed a few of the things on the sheet before passing it on. There were things that the others might have found funny, but she really didn't care. The boy didn't concern her, simple as that.

Yamamoto cleared his throat as he watched the captains settle back down. "From the information on these highly detailed sheets, we can only assume that Naruto be placed in one division." He glanced at Soi Fon, a small smile on his face. "Soi Fon, do you think that you can handle him?"

It took a moment for the information to reach Soi Fon's brain, but when it did, she gave Yamamoto a dark glare. "You can't be serious."

Yamamoto glanced down at her. "Do you believe that my judgment isn't right?"

Soi Fon considered it for a moment, weighing Naruto's strengths against the other things he'd probably done. He wasn't the sort of person who would respect authority, and would probably hurt her division in more ways than one. But he was also fast, if the reports that said he could perform Shunpo were reliable to go off of. Finally coming to a decision, she shook her head. She'd have to see how well he stood in combat. And not the childish from before, but a real, one on one battle. After coming to that decision, she motioned for Yamamoto to continue.

"This will be the final decisions for the placement of this years graduates. We will now go back to our divisions, and prepare to welcome them into our divisions. Dismissed."

As the other captains began to leave, Soi Fon noticed that Yamamoto wanted her to stay behind. Waiting till everyone else had left, Soi Fon spoke first. "What do you want from me Sotaicho?"

Yamamoto sighed. "You seem to have an idea of what is going on, you tell me."

Soi Fon shrugged. "I'd guess it has something to do with my reaction to getting Naruto on my squad. He'll have to be broken in, but I'll make it work."

Yamamoto shook his head. "No, it is something a little more than trivial things such as that. Rather, it is simply to warn you. Whatever you do, don't underestimate him. He has a way of surprising people when they least want it, and finds away into everyone's life. Just…be careful."

Soi Fon blinked. She had expected something…more. But to warn her about a new graduate? It just didn't make sense. But, since it was coming from the Sotaicho, she would take it into consideration. "Thank you Sotaicho, I will make sure to be cautious. Good day."

As she walked out of the room, Yamamoto shrugged. "Oh well. At least she can't say that I didn't warn her."

**Graduation**

"Congratulations, you are now official shinigami of the Seireitei."

A loud cheer rippled through the crowd as the former student stood up, grinning proudly as they glanced around. There were only other shinigami there, so some of the people who had 'family' outside in the Rukongai talked to one another, trying to ignore the other peoples reunions.

Naruto punched his fist into the air, an idiotic grin on his face. He'd never felt this kind of feeling of accomplishment before, when there were so many people who had finally acknowledged his talents when he proved himself. "I did it!"

"Naruto!"

Naruto glanced back. "Eh? Kaien and Sasuke!"

Both Kaien and Sasuke grinned as they approached him. Giving him a quick 'guy hug', Sasuke poked Naruto. "So, how does it feel?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't gotten to any of the good action in the divisions yet! I'll tell you how it is after that."

Kaien frowned. "You know Naruto; you might not be placed in a squad that has a lot of action. You might have to do other kinds of work, like cleaning the streets, or filing the paperwork."

Naruto pouted. "Just because I'm a new graduate doesn't mean that I'm going to take any kind of crap from the captains. If they don't give me some of the good stuff, they'll figure out why I'm the Prankster King! Plus, I'm a lot stronger than I was before. I'll be able to handle anything that comes my way!"

Kaien looked him over. Over the last ten years, whether he'd liked it or not, Naruto had definitely grown up. Gone was the scrawny little kid that he used to make fun of all the time. In his place was a man…if only in body. Naruto was almost as tall as he was, even in height with Sasuke. He'd lost the rest of his baby fat after the rigorous self imposed training that he'd put himself through to keep up with Sasuke, and got thickly toned muscles to take their place. His eyes held a small amount of playfulness, yet at the same time mirroring his seriousness that only came out during special occasions. His hands were somewhat callused due to how long his training sessions went, as well as from the Hakuda that he constantly used on the training dummies. His reiatsu hadn't grown as much as he'd thought it would considering the time he'd had in the academy, but he still had gained the skill needed to use his power better for much more powerful techniques. Truly, he'd grown up physically.

Mentally was another issue altogether; he still acted more like a little kid than the semi-adult he should have acted like. Then again, it was probably too late to try to change him now.

"Naruto, you can't just do stuff and think you'll get away with it all the time." Sasuke said, trying to sound like he was scolding Naruto. However, it was clear that he wanted Naruto to do something big for his first day in his division.

Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After a couple of seconds, he glanced over at Kaien. "Hey Kaien, we're meeting our new Division's tomorrow, right?"

Kaien nodded. "Yea, what of it?"

Naruto smirked. "I need some…supplies for the initiation. It will be one of the funniest initiations ever!"

"What are you planning?"

Naruto just smirked. "Something big, that's all I'll say right now."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a horrible idea that will get you killed by your captain and everyone else?" Kaien asked, shaking his head. Naruto was so going to die if he did what he thought he was planning to do. He was willing to bet that it had something to do with large explosions that would cause a lot of attention.

"Because I plan on making it big, with lots of big explosions that will get their attention." Naruto said, voicing Kaien's thoughts. Kaien blinked, wondering how Naruto had done it. "Plus, I'll have to make it so intricate that no one would ever think it would be me."

Kaien and Sasuke just shook their heads as Naruto ran off. He was smart enough to do something like that and not get caught, but since they had to wait to find out which division he'd be put in, Naruto was going to have to prepare for anything. This meant pain, lots and lots of pain.

"Kaien-dono."

Kaien glanced behind himself, noticing the messenger. "Uh, yea?"

"Will you please give this to Uzumaki-san?" He held out a letter to Kaien. "I was told that you two were close. And, if I couldn't find him, I was to give it to you?"

Kaien nodded, taking the letter from the man's hand. "Yea, I'll make sure that this gets to him as soon as possible."

The man bowed. "Have a good day Kaien-dono."

As he left Sasuke glanced at Kaien. "Kaien-dono? What's that about?"

Kaien shrugged. "The Shiba clan is something close to a noble clan here in the Seireitei. So a lot of people call me Kaien-dono, or Kaien-sama. It's kind of annoying in the beginning, but I got used to it."

Sasuke nodded. After a couple seconds, he glanced over to Kaien. "I bet Naruto's going to make a big splash when he gets to his division."

Kaien nodded. "Yea, he will."

A pause. "Think he'll kill anyone?"

Kaien chuckled. "No, but he'll probably make most of the people wet themselves in fear. He has a habit of doing that…a lot."

"Kaien, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, waving his hands around. "We need to head off to Kukaku-nee-chan's place! I left a few things there, and I really need them!"

Kaien glanced at Sasuke, confusion written on his face. "Fireworks?"

Sasuke shrugged. "More than likely. They're his style; loud, noisy, and can make a big crater if for that purpose. If his division doesn't see this coming, I seriously hope they've got enough patients to not kill him."

Kaien shrugged. "With Naruto, I'd bet that even if they _did_ have enough patients, he would still get his captain to kill him. It's just who he is."

**Shiba Residence**

Naruto stared at the letter, silently trying to figure out how it had happened. Maybe Imamate had made a mistake. No, he was too smart for something like that. But…why did he feel so weird about the letter? It just didn't make sense.

"So…I'm going to be in the Second Division?" Naruto asked, glancing over the letter again to make sure that he hadn't read it wrong.

Kaien nodded. "I've only heard a few things about the Second Division. People go it, and they basically have to relearn everything that they already knew. They teach you a whole new style of Hakuda, some Zanjutsu, and practically everything else. They've got one of the most exclusive training regiments, and the people in Second Division have to be strong, or else they won't live very long."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, what do they do?"

"They're divided into two sections. The first is the police force, mostly meant to keep order within the Seireitei, which would be different from the police for the Thirteenth division specializes in, which is in the Rukongai. They help set everything up should there be an , a big fight inside, or something like that. They help clean up the inside of the Seireitei. They are aided by the Patrol Corps, who help patrol the different worlds in advance to see the level of threat they are, as well as the rest of the Seireitei.

"The second section is Special Forces. That particular portion is where a lot of action takes place. They go out and take on most of the larger Hollows from C to A ranked Hollows in the real worlds to make sure that they don't all get together. They train most of their lives before entering the Special Forces, and no one who isn't from a clan has made it into one of the higher parts of the division. It's seriously that tough."

Naruto's grin widened as he went through all of the different things, getting somewhat excited. He had a habit of doing things that no one else did, why should this be any different? "This sounds like the perfect place for me! I'm so going to have fun!"

Sasuke shook his head, trying to understand what Naruto was thinking. "Naruto, did you listen to anything he said?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, I kind of stopped listening after he said that we get to take on C and A ranked Hollows. Everything else sounded boring. Sorry."

Kaien and Sasuke face-vaulted. Of course he'd stop listening after that, it was the only part that would grab his complete and undivided attention. He had a one track mind, and was using it to good effect to seriously mess with their nerves.

As they were about to yell at him, they realized Naruto wasn't standing in front of them anymore. There was an outline of him made up of dust, as though he'd taken off at high speeds. And before they could try and move around, they heard Naruto's voice ringing through the building. "Kukaku-nee-chan! Where are the really big and dangerous fireworks?! I want to make a really, really big boom!"

They both groaned, rushing out of the room to find him. They quickened their pace when they suddenly heard Kukaku giving Naruto the instructions on how to use them from somewhere they couldn't seem to find in time. When they did find him, he was running in the opposite direction towards the Seireitei, his arms filled with lots of different fireworks and a backpack that held a lot more. Kaien noticed that a few of them were meant to a lot more damage than normal fireworks, and lightly cursed Kukaku.

Kaien stayed behind to reprimand at Kukaku, while Sasuke attempted to catch up to Naruto and prevent him from doing something stupid. Neither were successful.

**Next Day**

Naruto fidgeted as he and the other people waited for their captain to show up. In order for his plan to work, he had to be with the rest of the division when they went off, so no one could pin it on him. After a moment, he noticed that no one else was fidgeting, and attempted to do the same. Most of the people had been trained to wait for long periods of time. Naruto was not one of those people.

Naruto perked up when he saw the door open, but quickly dropped it when he saw that it was the vice-captain who came in. After a second he cleared his throat. "You have been enlisted into the Second Division. You will be working under me, Omaeda Marechiyo. You may try out for the Special Forces later, to work under our captain, Soi Fon."

Naruto raised his hand. "When can we try out for the Special Forces?"

Marechiyo chuckled heartily. "You'll have to train for another hundred years before you can even _think_ of joining the Special Forces. You need more than just some ambition; you need speed, skill, and understanding of how your opponent thinks."

"Wouldn't are opponents all be dead after we've dealt with them?" Naruto asked, somewhat confused by Marechiyo's accusation.

A few people chuckled as Marechiyo turned red. "Th-that's not what I meant! What I meant was that you need to understand how your opponent thinks the moment you start fighting them. Whether they are a brawler, strategist, backup, etcetera. Does that make more sense?"

Naruto grinned as he nodded. Before Marechiyo could continue on, Naruto interrupted. "Where do you sign up for the Special Forces?"

Marechiyo gapped, somewhat shocked by Naruto's bluntness. "Are you stupid? I just said that –"

Naruto gave Marechiyo a hardened glare. "I've got the speed, picking apart fighters is second nature, and skill comes with time. I want to know where I would sign up."

Marechiyo apprised him for a moment, thinking it over. The boy wasn't really that great, maybe in the reiatsu department. But his skill was probably worse than what anyone else's might have been. However, from his file, he was certain that he would at the very least give them a run for their money. After considering everything, he sighed. "Alright, it's your funeral though. Since you're practically asking to die, I'll personally sign to let you take the test. If you fail, which you will, you'll probably be injured beyond what other shinigami besides people from the Eleventh Division would normally see in their lifetime. Your entire career could easily be ruined by this. Should you, by the remotest possibility, survive, you will work along with the rest of Second Division in their primary duties." He glanced at Naruto. Seeing that he was still set in his ways, he continued, "If by the slightest possibility you pass, you'll find yourself on a one way path that only leads to pain. You wouldn't be expected to sleep in the barracks with all the other Second Division people, but it will save you the trip of waking up before six in the morning to begin training. And you'd be pounded into the ground every day till you are able to take on anything that's thrown at you. Are we clear?"

Naruto grinned. "Crystal Fukutaicho."

Marechiyo shrugged, starting to walk away. "Dismissed!"

Naruto and the rest of the class hurried out. Naruto stayed towards the back…knowing what was about to happen. He almost felt sorry for Marechiyo.

As Marechiyo stepped out of the room, he triggered a small reiatsu string. The string sent out a pulse of reiatsu that traveled to the roof of multiple buildings. As the rest of the people followed, they were greeted with the sight of rows of fireworks off from the adjacent building. A few people looked on in awe, while others jumped at the sudden noise. Marechiyo's mouth dropped as he saw them going off. But if that had surprised him, then what happened next was downright scary.

Several giant, dragon shaped rockets began screaming through the streets, charging directly at them. Most of the kids got out of the way, but Marechiyo, who didn't notice till it was too late, wasn't so luck. One of the large rockets slammed into his gut, actually picking him up and carrying him off into a wall, before being knocked into the sky. There were screams all over the Seireitei as the other rockets finally began their accent into the sky. After nearly hitting the barrier around the Seireitei, they all began to explode. The intricate coloration, as well as the different patterns captivated the students for what they would later say was the best wasted minutes of their lives.

Naruto just watched the fireworks with a small amount of pride. _I bet Kukaku-nee-chan is having the time of her life watching this right now. It's so awesome!_

**In the Rukongai**

Kukaku was laughing loudly, clutching her sides as she watched the explosions from her home. Ganju stared, bug eyed as he watched Naruto's plan take action. It was beautiful to say the least.

"Oh, I've got to thank that kid later." Kukaku said, grinning as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "Of course, I taught him everything there is to know about fireworks, so I am allowed to say that he will make it far should he decide to stop being a shinigami and decide to sell fireworks. And the way he set it up, it's just perfect."

Ganju glanced at his sister. "Nee-chan, won't he get in trouble for this?"

Kukaku shook her head. "There are two reasons why he's never gotten caught. One, he's sneaky enough that no one catches him setting the stuff up, and it usually blows itself up in the end anyways. And two, should he ever get caught, he's fast enough to get away to a safe place. I wouldn't believe that he got caught for any reason whatsoever."

"But he's in the Second Division. He'll be near one of the fastest people in the entire Seireitei." Ganju replied, holding up Naruto's letter.

Kukaku just stared at the letter for a moment, trying to remember who the captain currently was. Then, a grin crossed her face. "I hope he makes it into the Special Forces."

Ganju blinked. "That has nothing to do with what I'm saying!"

Kukaku's grin widened. "I know, but a thought just hit me. The captain of the Second Division, Soi Fon, is one of the coldest people you will ever meet. Naruto is just the opposite. If he's in the Special Divisions, he'll be around her more often."

"What's your point?"

"He and Soi Fon will have to meet at some point. And Naruto's not going to just let her get away with staying cold to him all the time. He'll probably heat things up in the Second Division. Plus, no one can resist his childish antics; she'll crack and start warming up to the world at some point."

Ganju scratched his head. "Isn't that like playing with matches in a room filled with fireworks?"

Kukaku nodded. "Exactly."

It took a moment, but understanding finally hit Ganju. "Oh…so that's what you're hoping for. I just hope he doesn't die while he tries to do it."

Kukaku shrugged. "Collateral damage. His sacrifice would bring peace to so many people."

Ganju shook his head. "You're merciless."

"Thank you."

They both sat back, watching the firework show fade away.

**2nd Division Captain's Room**

Soi Fon glanced out her window, watching the fireworks going off all over the Seireitei. She grimaced as she remembered how Yamamoto had warned her that Naruto would do something big for his first day in her division. However, she hadn't thought that he would do something like _this_.

She glanced up at her ceiling, trying to ignore the fireworks going off outside her room. Unfortunately, she couldn't get back to her meditation as they got progressively louder. "Darn that boy. I swear, I'm going to –"

She suddenly stopped herself, a thought coming to her. She didn't know much about this boy, but if he could do all this…

She sighed, slowly pulling out a slip of paper. "Perhaps I'm getting too sentimental."

"Taicho?"

Soi Fon glanced up. "What is it?"

The messenger bowed his head. "Forgive me, but Marechiyo is taking someone to the Training Grounds to be tested."

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow before she thought over who it could be. No one from the lesser clans was asking to enter, and she was certain that no one who just graduated would…

"Oh, I see." She finished writing before standing up. She slid out of her captain's haori, and took off her sword. Handing them to the messenger, she began searching the room for something.

The messenger looked uneasy as he watched her look around for the object. "Uh, aren't you going to do something about this?"

Soi Fon nodded. "I'm going to see who this person is, and whether or not he is good enough for the Special Forces."

"But Taicho!"

Soi Fon glared at the messenger, making him gulp in fear. "Do I need to repeat myself? I'm going to watch. Marechiyo will deal with the consequences later. Understand?"

The messenger nodded. "Yes Taicho."

After another moment, Soi Fon finally found what she was looking for. "Alright. Let's see just how good you are…Uzumaki-san."

**Special Forces Training Grounds**

Naruto was somewhat surprised by the training grounds. It was basically just a giant box. The base of the box was where he and the five examiners were currently standing, the five of them staring at him as they waited. The walls seemed to be designed to be high enough that the people wanting to watch the examination could do so without getting hurt. From where he was standing, it almost looked like the walls reached the sky. Naruto looked up at Marechiyo, mentally thanking him with a grin on his face as he did a few quick stretches. If Marechiyo hadn't been annoyed enough, he wouldn't have let him take the Special Force's exam. Of course, he'd made sure to annoy him enough to get him to do it.

He also mentally laughed at the fact that he still had residue of the fireworks on his face that he hadn't been able to get off. His angry look was priceless as he'd yelled for the members of the Second Division to search the area to find the person who did it. The combination of anger, shock, and disgust was one of the strangest expressions he'd ever seen. Of course, the expression was even funnier when they'd told him that they couldn't find the person who'd set off the fireworks.

Naruto glanced between the people around him. They were all seasoned fighters, although not necessarily as strong as some of the other people he'd met. They were standing at attention, waiting for Marechiyo, who was standing off to the side, to tell them that they could go. As he continued to glance around, he began to grin.

"The qualifications are simple." Marechiyo said, looking down from outside the training ground. "You are to take down all five of the examiners without having to submit to their strength at any given point. Should you submit, you will be let out of here without further harm. You may begin…now!"

Naruto slid into a defensive stance, his eyes suddenly losing the last of their warmth and humor as he was suddenly in 'battle mode.' The first examiner quickly sped forward, catching Naruto off guard. He had expected them to be fast, but not _this_ fast. It was almost inhuman.

Naruto didn't even have time to block as the examiner began to slam a flurry of strikes into his chest and gut, not bothering to pause between strikes. Naruto felt the wind being knocked out of him as he bent his knees to prevent himself from sliding back. He wasn't very successful as the quick succession of blows forced him to slowly be moved into a wall. It was much harder than he'd thought it would be.

Suddenly, the examiner pause, looking at Naruto as though he had won the match. There was a small smugness in his eyes as he looked up at Naruto. Naruto ground his teeth together as he glared at him.

_Don't look down on me!_ He mentally yelled as he began his counterattack.

The examiners eyes widened for a moment before he was down by Naruto sped forward and slammed his fist into the mans gut. Before he could think, Naruto took another step forward, slamming the palm of his other hand into the mans chest. He took a final step forward, delivering a crushing uppercut to the mans chin. The examiner went down before being able to do anything else.

Naruto barely had time to react before the second examiner suddenly slammed him back into the wall again. Slamming his feet into the ground, he winced as he took multiple blows that were slowly beginning to hurt. He mentally thanked Sasuke for not going too easy on him during their sparing matches. He would not have had the endurance to take this kind of punishment any other way.

Gritting his teeth to endure the pain, Naruto reached out and grabbed the mans hand. Caught off guard, the examiner attempted to kick Naruto in his head. Naruto ducked down, dragging the mans arm along with him. Unable to do anything from the position he was in, the man could only watch as Naruto swept his leg out from under him. Grabbing the examiner around the waist, he made him crash head first into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Naruto was caught off guard as the third examiner struck him from the side. Unable to retaliate, Naruto soon found himself with the examiners arm around his neck in a powerful strangle hold. "Give up boy. You're too inexperienced to get out of this hold. No one who's been placed in this hold has ever escaped other than Marechiyo and Taicho."

Naruto grunted, trying to twist his body out of the examiners hold. It was indeed impressive, cutting of his ability to breathe properly while holding him almost completely still. Plus, he wasn't much of a weak person. After taking a short breath, he managed to rasp out. "Screw…you."

Grabbing his left fist, he used his right hand to push his elbow with much more force into his opponent's side than he would normally have been able to use. The examiner grunted in pain, his hold not relaxing in the slightest. Figuring that he would pass out if he didn't think of something, Naruto did the first thing that came to his mind. He jumped upward and backwards, pushing the examiner back with him. Unable to move from his own hold, the examiner was slammed onto the ground with a loud . Naruto rolled off the mans chest and feint punched the examiners face, panting heavily. The examiner groaned. "I yield."

Naruto shakily stood up. He was surprisingly sore from the strikes seeing as they had not been as strong as his own. But that would have to wait as the forth examiner rushed forward.

Naruto groaned as he moved out of the way. He could see the strikes coming at him, but unlike most of the strikes before, they were harder than before. He could dodge them, but when he got hit by them, they stung as the pain shot threw him. He grimaced as another blow hit him. _I'm not going to be able to hold back my Shunpo forever. Might as we get this over with as fast as possible._

The examiner's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly disappeared into his guard, slamming his fists as hard and fast as he could. The examiner was actually raised of the ground as Naruto's blows continued. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever, he quickly brought his leg straight up in a crescent motion. The examiner flew back, slamming painfully into the wall with a dull thud.

Not waiting for the final examiner to attack him first, he used the fastest Shunpo he could and slammed his fist into his face as hard as he could, practically dragging him over the nearest wall and slamming his head into the wall. The examiner didn't make a sound as he crumpled to the floor.

Panting heavily, he turned around to look at Marechiyo, to grin with some amount of pride that he'd accomplished something. But as he did so, he saw another person on the wall. He couldn't see who it was, but by the look of it, they were another examiner. This seemed even more obvious as the person entered the Training Grounds. The first thing that he realized was that it was a woman, with navy blue hair that was worn short with two long braids covered in cloth. She wore a kind of mask over her face which hid her identity from his view; not that he really cared. She had a calm and cool aura about her, which made Naruto groan. He really didn't need this right now. Sliding back into a defensive stance, he waited fore her to make the first move.

He didn't have to wait long, as she shot forward. Naruto's eyes widened. The speed at which she was coming was even faster than the normal examiners. _She's on a whole other level!_

Not willing to back down, he rushed forward as well. Slamming his fist into hers, he attempted to keep up with her speed. She was going so fast that he swore that he was beginning to see a small ripples in the air as she moved her hands and legs. His body was quickly somewhat of a human punching bag as she moved within his guard and continually slammed her fists into his gut. Finally, she slammed him into a wall, grabbing his throat. It was getting a little old for the people to slam him into the wall all the time.

"Do you yield?" She asked, putting pressure on his windpipe.

Naruto grimaced. "No way."

Before she could react, Naruto had slammed his elbow into the side of her head. She slid back a short ways, somewhat surprised that he hadn't yielded; even more so since he'd actually had the nerve to attack despite being in a dangerous position. _Does he really think that he can last much longer?_

Naruto rubbed his jaw, realizing that at some point during the fight, he'd split his lip. He turned back to the woman, a determined expression on his face. "I'm not…going to…to yield."

She smirked behind her mask. "Are you afraid of telling everyone that you got beat by a woman?" Typical guy behavior. Able to be beaten up by any other guy and just brush it of and be friends in the end. But if it was a woman, their pride couldn't handle it; they had to do something that would keep their pride intact.

Naruto shook his head, wincing in pain as he felt the pain of doing so. "I…couldn't care less…if you were a…a guy or not. I…just don't want…to walk out of here…in defeat."

The chuckled. "Are you so prideful that you would risk your life to win?" Before Naruto had a chance to answer, she used a Shunpo to get in front of him. Slamming her leg into his head, Naruto found himself lying on his back. She then slammed her foot into his chest, causing him to cry out in pain. "Your foolish pride will get you killed. We have no need for people would risk something as foolish as this for a mission."

Steeling himself, Naruto barely spoke. "It doesn't…hurt the mission…if I get…get the job done…right?"

"What are you talking about?"

The woman's eyes widened as she felt Naruto shifted all of his weight to his chest. Before she could do anything, Naruto's legs had shot up, wrapping around her and slamming her against the ground. Naruto grinned. "That's…what I mean. That's how…I've kept myself…alive."

Before he could force her to yield, Naruto felt multiple blades suddenly pressing against his throat. He tried to focus on the different people, but they were beginning to blur out of his sight. "Are you alright Taicho?"

He had one last thought that flew through his mind as he sunk into the darkness. _Taicho? Who's Taicho?_

Soi Fon grimaced as she glanced over her opponent's body, her mask falling off as she glared at his barely moving body. "What's this boy's name?"

Marechiyo glanced at the list. "Uh…Uzumaki Naruto."

"And why was he taking the examination?"

Marechiyo looked down sheepishly. "Because I signed him up for it."

Soi Fon glared at him, as he stumbled to explain. "He was stubborn! He asked me how someone could get into the Special Forces, and wouldn't stop bugging me. I just gave him what he wanted; I didn't realize that he would actually pass the examination!"

Soi Fon glanced at Naruto again. "He was a surprisingly versatile fighter. Fast enough to catch two of our examiners off guard, as well as strong enough to knock four of them out. Even I made most of my opponents yield in order to pass this examination." She winced as she remembered what had happened next. Yoruichi had jumped into the middle of the training grounds and proceeded to defeat her. Of course, she'd mostly lost due to the fact that she'd been surprised to see that her captain was fighting her. Naruto hadn't even bothered to put two and two together to realize that. He's simply attacked her due to the fact that she was in the arena fighting him. Maybe Yamamoto was right; after all he was a rather surprising fighter.

She glanced back to Marechiyo. "You know, I don't think that I'll punish you for this."

Marechiyo blinked. Maybe he hadn't heard her right. "You won't?"

Soi Fon shook her head. "No, you actually did something right." She began to walk away, handing something to Marechiyo as she did so. "This boy has a lot more potential than I expected. I just hope he can survive the training."

Marechiyo blinked, looking at the letter. It wasn't sealed, so no one would notice if he'd read it. After a couple of seconds, his curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. Reading through it his eyes widened. He read through it again, his mouth coming agape at what was written. "This…this can't be!"

The letter said:

_Uzumaki,_

_Congratulations. You have been requested to join the Special Forces. You are to report to your captain as soon as you can, and be prepared to receive your assignments from her on in. While you are within the Seireitei, you will be acting as one of the Second Division captain's personal guards. You will need to prepare for everything that is to come, and will be expected to be in a good condition as much as it permits. That is all._

_Your captain,_

_Soi Fon_

A/N: I bet you guys saw a lot that coming. But then, it was fun to write!

For those of you who liked Sora, sorry he had to die; it was a hard scene to write. But I wanted to show how much Sasuke's changed, and make him a little more humanistic. I hope I portrayed it correctly.

Anyways, just to clear a few things up, I wanted the Naru/Soi paring myself, but it was pure luck that it got the way it was. And if it's overused, then you've never seen me do this before. Plus, the ones that I've seen are all in Harems.

If you have any ideas, or have things that you want to see in the future, let me know!

Anyways, this is the sixth chapter of **Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens. **Don't forget to REVIEW people!

Till next time,

Draco Kamikaze


	7. Chapter 7

"Speech"

_Thought_

_"Zanpakuto Speech"_

**Scene Change (Centered)**

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

Naruto panted as he slowly began to run through the Zanjutsu kata again. He had been practicing all day, and was slowly beginning to feel the pain that he'd pushed out of his mind over an hour before. Although he was known to many as the 'Stamina Freak', along with his many other titles, there was a certain point where even he began to get tired and sore. And after training for nearly eight hours straight, every day, for the last year, most other people wouldn't be able to stand, let alone finish one last kata for the day.

Naruto continued to focus as he continued through the movements, feeling the parts of the technique that were wrong and correcting them as he went. He'd been trying to get it as exact as possible for the past week, but as it turned out, it was harder than many people made it look. He had more ground to cover than any other member in the Special Forces as he hadn't been raised and trained so that he could only be in the Special Forces. As such, he had to make sure that he did not fall behind on anything that they had to know. If they could take him down even once during their spars, then all this training was for nothing. Of course, he might not have the experience that others had…but he was going to cover whatever lost ground he needed to.

He mentally grimaced as he slid into his last stance. He had been surprised to have made it into the Special Forces, considering the last person he'd fought in the exam had been his _captain_. He didn't really put it together till he saw how she wore her hair when she had him report in the next day. He almost made the stupid comment about how familiar she looked until he realized that no one else in the Seireitei or Rukongai wore their hair like that. He then proceeded to apologize to her for not figuring it out before as he mentally committed seppuku (_Samurai suicide_) over and over again. He had never felt _so_ _stupid_.

As he thought of his captain, he scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure her out. She wasn't really a _bad_ person, but she was tough as nails, and would rip a person's head off for sneezing at the wrong moment. Most of the time, he wasn't sure whether to watch in awe at her skill, or cower in fear from her power. She was strict to a point, and wanted to make sure that no one took their skills for granted. If they didn't train hard enough, than most of the Hollows would begin to have an edge on them. And with her prowling around, most of the people made sure that they were on task. Of course, that didn't mean that he followed that rule to a point; just enough that she wouldn't notice when he took off for private training.

Naruto shook his head as he slipped into another Zanjutsu stance. So far, he had quite enjoyed being in the Second Division, but being around Soi Fon all the time could get quite tiring. She was just so, cold, heartless, evil…etcetera. She seemed to look for ways to make things bigger than they were. She even tried to make sure that he knew the proper way to respect his superior officers. This was due to the 'disrespect' he showed when Ukitake came by to talk with Soi Fon for a moment. All he had said was "Hey Ukitake-san" and she'd gone off on a two hour tangent about how rude, disrespectful and dishonorable it was to say something like that.

He snorted. _Me? Well mannered? What a joke._

He slowly spun around, slicing an imaginary enemy. He had to admit, Soi Fon and anything else aside, the training that he managed to get in was definitely helping. He still needed more training to get close to a forth seat's skill, but his power was making up for it. He just…needed to get out more. He needed to _do_ more.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he hacked away at another imaginary enemy. Of all the people in the Special Forces, he was the only one who had yet to go out on a _single_ mission; and even worse, got _yelled_ at whenever he had tried to ask for one. It was frustrating how people would tell him how amazing it was in the heat of battle, how everything was faster or slower than it should be, and he could not understand whatever they were talking about. Whenever he asked Soi Fon in the first month or so, she would 'politely' say that he wasn't ready yet; that he wasn't strong enough, fast enough, or smart enough to do what needed to be done on those kinds of missions. He'd stopped asking after a while, figuring she would give him one if he waited patiently. That was a year ago; a whole _year_ ago. He grimaced as he began to finish his technique, feeling the sweat roll of his face as he slowly stood up.

As he stood up, he slowly sheathed his sword, listening to the blade scrap against the scabbard. It helped him relax as he thought over his strengths and weaknesses.

He was one of the fastest members that Second Division had, using only Hoho during the many spars that he'd participated in. If he'd used Shunpo all the time, he was sure he could give most of the second seated officers a run for their money should they ever decide to chase him; maybe even a few of the slower captains should it come to that. His fighting style consisted of blunt, powerful strikes that were meant to quickly incapacitate his enemies with a single blow, while being fast enough that he could quickly move to another enemy should he be fighting multiple enemies. He'd proved his ability multiple times during quick sparing matches in the dojo. He had a perfect record, pushing himself as high up in the rankings that he could; meaning that for the people who attended and kept a record of the fights, he was at the very top with no loses. He had also managed to work out some of the kinks in his Kido techniques so that they could be formed faster than they could before. There was a lot of power that he had yet to tap into, but he was sure that he could solve that problem later. Sasuke expressed the same problem whenever they got the chance to train together and swap theories. They were working over how to unlock the potential energy that the Kido had, but couldn't figure out what they were missing. All in all, he was as well rounded as any other high seated officer should be.

And despite the amount of strength he'd shown, she was still holding him back.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself as he thought over the reasons why Soi Fon would keep him behind the rest of the division. _Am I not strong enough? I know that I could be faster, but I'm more of a power type of person than a speed type. No…that's not it. If they were faster, I'd just have to be faster at beating them. I'm strong enough to handle whatever comes my way, so I could hold my own against other people, and harder Hollows. Is it because I'm not respectful? She'd have to suck it up, 'cause I'm not going to change that anyways. But…there must be something I'm missing._

As he wallowed in his thoughts, he felt his zanpakuto spirit suddenly stir. He waited patiently for him to speak, wanting his opinion on the problem he was having. _"Kiroi-chan, you're thinking too much. It's not like you. Where's the act first, think later attitude you used to have before? I miss him, he was funny. Watching him run into problems that were way over his head…and then managing to somehow find away out; it was a good time, no?"_

_I know…but there are times when I need to think things through before I act, believe it or not. And trust me, I don't believe it. There is no way that someone could actually _think_ before they act; it can't be physically possible._

"_I'll never believe it either. You're suddenly becoming…educated! You know what; I know what you need to do. You need to pull a prank on someone…or at the very least mess with their heads. You've been too busy training to think about anything else; you've got to show people that you're not gone. Where is the Prankster King? Where's the Most Unpredictable Shinigami? WHERE DID YOU GO?!!!"_

_Uh…well that…okay. But who should I prank? There aren't many people who deserve it right now. My information system is completely gone, so I don't know who's been doing what, and Hanataro has been holding his own against Eleventh Division guys with Ikkaku and Yumichika's help. Plus, I don't really have anything in mind._

"_You were kidding, right? I've got a prime target for you: Soi Fon. She's the perfect target."_

_What!? Why would I do something like that? She's my captain!_

"_Because, you are a fun loving kid who needs to let loose on whoever get in your way. She's a strict, cold person who wouldn't have fun unless it bit her in the –"_

_Alright, alright! I get it, I'll do it. But you know it goes against my morals!_

"_Alright! Let's get this party...wait…you have morals?"_

……_shut up Gama-san._

Naruto grimaced as he began to walk back to his division, his fingers drumming on the hilt of his sword as he walked. He had no idea of what he was going to do, but he was pretty sure that it was going to be as spontaneous; like he was back in the academy. He'd probably think of something really stupid as soon as he saw her, but at least it could bring him back to his normal, hyper, annoying self. It was the real him that hadn't been seen by the Second Division. They had been lucky…till now.

As he walked along, he thought of different ways of bringing her out of her shell so she'd play along with whatever he did. After all, it wouldn't be fun if she didn't chase him for what he did. She probably wouldn't respond well if he set off fireworks in her room; experience had proved that. He'd done it previously with Kyouraku, but the guy had just laughed it off since none of them had actually hit him. Nanao on the other hand…was another story. The woman had tried to flatten him with her book for the next month till he'd apologized at least a hundred times for nearly burning her hair. It was an honest mistake; anyone could have done the same thing.

He scratched his head, thinking hard about what he should do. He'd done the 'change clothes for weird stuff' trick, the 'multicolored people' trick, and even the 'glue in front of the door' trick so many times that he could do them blindfolded and backwards. He needed something new, something that would catch her off guard. He needed something that was so ridiculous that she would have to have fun to get back at him. He needed something…that a kid would do.

He suddenly grinned as he quickened his pace, ignoring the fading throb of his muscles as he began to run back to the division. He knew for a fact that she wouldn't see this coming; who could see something like this coming? No one.

As he approached the division, he slowed his pace. He quickly controlled his breathing to make sure that nothing would seem out of the ordinary as he walked towards the training grounds that Soi Fon would normally go to for private training. It was against the rules to interrupt her training session, but rules _were_ made to be broken. A feral grin crossed his face as he jumped into the surrounding forest, rushing through towards the area Soi Fon should have been at.

_Ah, this will get the old gears working again. This should be quite fun…especially her reaction! Kukuku, the Prankster King returns!_

**Soi Fon's Training Ground**

Soi Fon panted heavily as she attempted to perform her technique again. After experimenting with her Shikai, she'd come up with the idea of forming Kido around her fists in conjunction with Hakuda to create a powerful new style. However, it was something that was a lot harder to control than she thought it would be. She was a captain after all; simple things like this should not be as hard as it was. Other captains probably wouldn't think of it, seeing as they wouldn't need it as badly as she would. If it were Yoruichi trying to do it…

She growled as she attempted to perform the technique again, pushing nearly the rest of her remaining reiatsu into the technique. She pushed her reiatsu as hard as she could, forming it just as she thought it should be formed, and struck out at a nearby target. There was a small crater where she'd hit, but she didn't feel the kind power behind it that she'd expected it to have. It was too weak; pitiful even. It wouldn't be enough to take _her_ down should they meet.

As she panted from the decrease in reiatsu she paused, feeling a presence slowly making its way towards her. She stood straight, trying to figure out who it was. They were coming at a reasonable pace, so it wasn't anyone bringing something important. The reiatsu was familiar, so it was probably someone from her division. She looked in the direction of the reiatsu and waited, while trying to think of who would dare to bother her during her private training session. She thought she'd made it very clear that she was only to be disturbed in case of an emergence only.

After a couple of moments, the person landed just a few meters away in a feral crouch. She blinked in surprise as she noticed the man's blond hair waving about in the wind. When he finally glanced up, she finally recognized him. "Uzumaki-san, what do you think you are doing?"

Naruto blinked, looking somewhat confused. "I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to see how my captain was doing. Is there something wrong with that?"

Soi Fon scowled. "Why? You have no reason to approach me unless I call you. Are you really that stupid?"

Naruto stood up, slowly walking over to her with a serious look on his face. "I wanted to ask you something."

Soi Fon glanced at him curiously. _He wants to ask me something?_ "What could you possibly want to ask me?" She asked, voicing her thoughts as he continued to come forward.

By then, Naruto had closed the gap between the two of them, making her somewhat uncomfortable as he leaned in closer. After a couple of seconds, he finally spoke. "Do you think you can catch me?"

Soi Fon blinked. She hadn't expected something as strange as that. "What –?"

Naruto suddenly tapped her head, a grin across his face. "Tag, you're it!"

As quickly as he'd arrived, Naruto suddenly disappeared into the forest. Soi Fon blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. She glanced to where Naruto had run off, and tried to think about what she should do. _Should I go along with this? Or should I just let him run off._

As she continued to think about this, she heard her zanpakuto spirit speak up. _"You do realize that he just challenged you, right? Are you going to let him get away as the victor? To let him brag that he out ran you? He acts just like Yoruichi would if she had found you like this…_

After a moment, she came to a decision, leaping after him.

Naruto grinned as he felt Soi Fon's reiatsu quickly speeding after him. "So, you're going to come along? Well I guess I'd better speed things up." He quickly rushed forward, pushing more speed into his movements.

Soi Fon was somewhat surprised when she felt Naruto's reiatsu suddenly begin to pull away from her. Gritting her teeth, she went forward as fast as she could without using Shunpo. There was no reason for her to overtake someone who couldn't use Shunpo as easily as she could. Plus, there was still the fact that her imperfect technique had strained her muscles, and she was still quite sore. It would take her a while to get back to even half of her full strength. And at the speed he was going, she was going to need everything she could use.

Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on his own reiatsu. He began to suppress his reiatsu, slowly hiding his presence from anyone around himself. It was much harder to do than most people would believe, as one had to have the focus to do so, and to completely hide his reiatsu would be much harder than for anyone else due to his increasingly large supply of reiatsu. That and he had the attention span of a child which screwed up his technique a lot of the time. But after much practice he'd finally been able to do so, creating chaos wherever he went.

After a few more moments, he landed in the middle of a large clearing. Grinning widely, he dashed across the field.

Soi Fon had finally caught up to Naruto, watching him run across a large field. She grimaced as she watched him run off. She could see him right there, right in front of her; yet she couldn't feel his reiatsu. It was confusing to say the least. Growling, she too made her way across the field.

Suddenly, a large portion of the ground began to collapse on itself, becoming a large sand trap. Soi Fon's eyes widened as she began to sink into the ground, quickly unable to either escape or move. Growling, she struggled against the sand as she became buried up too her mid chest with only one hand above the ground.

Closing her eyes, she focused her reiatsu to her hands, trying to perform the technique that she'd been practicing earlier. However, before she could finish focusing the reiatsu, a small amount of sand suddenly shot up and enveloped her hand, dragging it quickly under the ground. As she struggled, she heard several deep voices suddenly began to speak from a dark portion of the clearing.

"Well, well. Look what we've got here!"

"I think it's a pretty little thing, but does it taste good?"

"Why don't we find out?"

Soi Fon's eyes widened as she saw three Hollows suddenly slink out of the forest, one of them holding a strange string in its hands. They had to be at least B ranked Hollows, seeing as they had been able to conceal their presence from her. Of course she'd been so focused on Naruto and his hidden reiatsu; she didn't really have time to look for other possible enemies. She cursed her thoughtlessness, as she continued to struggle to get out. She was still weak from training, and wasn't able to fight against even this simple trap.

However, despite being trapped, she didn't plan on taking this lying down. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We're catching our next meal. We almost caught the guy from before, but Crush noticed another source of food and had us wait." The middle Hollow said, jabbing his thumb towards the Hollow on its right. "I would've caught him anyway, but Sandpit didn't want to lose a chance at such a high leveled dinner. Man, you smell delicious!"

Sandpit growled, his shark-like appearance making it somewhat strange to hear. Soi Fon mentally shuddered as it spoke. "The first wouldn't have made us as powerful as this one will. Don't worry; we'll catch the boy later. That's _after_ we eat this one, understand Bone Breaker?"

Bone Breaker nodded. "You're right…as usual. Don't worry; there'll be no stopping us after this meal!"

Crush smacked Bone Breaker on his shoulder. "Enough talking! Let's eat!"

Soi Fon widened her eyes, surprised as they began to come towards her. As they came at her, she felt herself suddenly become calm. She wasn't sure what it was, but she suddenly felt resigned to her fate._ I wasn't ready. Yoruichi-sama…I wasn't strong enough to get out of this. And unlike the other times, you won't be there to save me._

She struggled against the sand, still unable to move. She was doing everything that she could to break free, but nothing seemed to be working. She grimaced as they closed in on her, closing her eyes as she waited for them to eat her. Hopefully, the part that she was aware of wouldn't last very long; and she'd be able to pass over without feeling a thing.

There was a thud as she waited for them to come. Not sure of what had happened, she kept her eyes closed. After a moment, she finally glanced up in confusion. She widened her eyes in surprise at what she saw.

Naruto was standing over her, holding the three Hollows back with his bare hands. She blinked as he suddenly seemed to glow for a brief second as he quietly whispered. "Hado 1: Sho (_Thrust_)."

The three Hollows slid back to the line of trees, confused by this sudden confrontation. As they regained their composure, they glared angrily at Naruto. Naruto glared back, slowly moving in front of Soi Fon to act as a human shield. After a couple of seconds, Crush growled. "You little brat! Get out of our way."

Bone Crusher smacked him. "Fool! He may seem weak, but this is the one from before! Plus, he'd a weak Hado against us with a powerful result. Perhaps we will gain even more power from this meal than from the girl!"

Naruto sighed as he listened to their conversation. "They don't really get it, do they Taicho?" Soi Fon glanced up in confusion as Naruto continued. "They don't get that they're fighting one of the elite members of the Second Division, and that their time has come. I will deal with them myself."

"Naruto?" Soifon asked, trying to understand what was going on. Gone was the childish boy that she had been chasing earlier. In his place was a strange warrior, who stood with pride, and power. For a moment, her mind flashed to Yoruichi. She shook her head, trying to not think about her.

"I'm sorry Soifon-san. I didn't mean to get us into trouble." Naruto said, quickly drawing his sword. As he held the blade to his side, he glanced back to the Hollows with a determined grin. "Don't worry…I'll take care of them quickly and efficiently."

As he spoke, he rushed towards the Hollows. As he approached, Crush and Bone Breaker scattered, leaving Sandpit all alone to fend for himself. He didn't stand a chance as Naruto quickly cut him perfectly in half, walking calmly as Sandpit disintegrated. Naruto glanced towards the other two Hollows as Crush glared at Naruto. "You…"

"Next." Naruto said, focusing on Crush. In a blur, he launched himself at him. Unlike Sandpit, Crush was more prepared for the oncoming strike, as was able to use his arm to block the blow. Naruto grimaced as he pushed harder, trying to cut through its arm.

As he tried to do this, Bone Breaker charged towards the two of them. From what Soi Fon could tell, he didn't care whether or not his partner was killed by this; as long as he got Naruto he'd be fine. It was usually like that with all Hollows; the strongest survived by getting stronger from others power.

At the last second, Naruto realized what was happening and tried to move away. He twisted to the side, getting a glancing blow to the shoulder as he slid away from the two Hollows. He growled as he grabbed his shoulder, trying to ignore the pain as he watched his two opponents. He slowly straightened up as they two Hollows glanced at each other.

Bone Breaker chuckled. "He's not very fast, is he Crush?"

Crush shook its head. "I don't know, he got Sandpit. He might be –"

"Don't be stupid." Bone Breaker growled, hitting Crush on his head. "The only reason he got Sandpit was because he was lucky, and Sandpit is weak. Now could we please stop this and –"

"Hado 63: Raikoho (_Thunder Bolt Cannon_)!"

The Hollows quickly jumped out of the way as a large bolt of lightning like reiatsu struck at them. As Bone Breaker came to a stop, Naruto charged him. "Not good enough brat!" He yelled as he attempted to smash Naruto.

Naruto waited till the last second before dodging within Bone Breakers guard. Within his guard, he quickly stabbed forward, piercing its mask. It gasped, trying to do something as it began to disintegrate.

Crush glared at Naruto. "What are you?"

Naruto grinned, his eyes glowing darkly as he spoke. "Your worst nightmare."

Soi Fon shuddered. It was like she was watching Zaraki whenever he battled; only Zaraki's grin wasn't the kind held only the confidence of destroying anyone in his way. He at least looked like he was having fun while he fought. Naruto's looked held no emotion at all, like someone who'd lost it all with nothing but their will pushing them on. And the will to destroy and eradicate everything, it was something so powerful and foreign that she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the old Naruto.

Crush chuckled. "You think you're that powerful? I've faced off against much stronger shinigami than you! That pathetic Hado you used was nothing compared to some of the other stuff I've seen. I should know; I've killed at least twenty-three of your little friends. Plus, there had to have been at least three seated officers amongst them. You can't win."

The upper portion of Naruto's face was shadowed as he began to speak. "Hai, I'm not as strong as other people might have been. But then…I'm not going all out just yet."

As he spoke, his reiatsu began to leak out. Crush watched in amazement as the reiatsu began to form around him, violently whipping around as Naruto glared at him, crushing him under the sudden intensity that his eyes held. As his power continued to grow, Naruto charged forward. Crush raised his arm to block the blow, expecting the same result as the first time Naruto had attacked him. However, as Naruto appeared on his shoulder, Crush felt his arm suddenly fall away from him.

He looked down in shock and fear as he jumped back, trying to put some distance between himself and Naruto. He panted heavily as he tried to think of what he could do. As he realized the only real option was to run away, Naruto spoke again. "Have you ever seen the blade of a crimson moon?"

Crush looked at Naruto curiously. "No."

Naruto held his sword parallel to the ground. "Then you've been luck up until now."

Soi Fon blinked. "What are you…?"

Reiatsu suddenly began to whirl around Naruto as he calmly muttered the name of his attack. "Akatsuki Senpuu (_Red Moon Whirlwind_)."

As he spoke, Crush began to back up. He'd never felt this kind of power before, and he needed to get a way. Before he could even think about it, he saw a flash of red reflecting of Naruto's blade. It shielded its eyes, trying to avoid the strange glare he was getting. As it did so, it felt a rush of air by the side of its face. Turning around, it saw Naruto standing calmly behind it, his sword held lazily at his side. As Crush wondered what had happened, it split in half and disintegrated.

Soi Fon blinked. He wasn't really that strong; there were plenty other people in the Seireitei who could take him down. However, the fact that he'd taken three B ranked Hollows by himself was still an accomplishment, despite the fact that they weren't the strongest B ranked Hollows that were out there. Even when she had taken out B ranked Hollows, she had Yoruichi with her to give her back up should she get caught.

Naruto slowly walked over, his eyes closed as he sheathed his sword. As he came within a few feet of her, he stopped. He slowly opened his eyes, sighing quietly as he knelt down. "Gomen nasai Taicho (_Please forgive me captain_)."

Soi Fon blinked. _Was he speaking formally?_ "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong; you simply did your duty as a member of Second Division."

Naruto nodded. "I know. But…if I hadn't goaded you into following me, you wouldn't have gotten caught, and I wouldn't have had to save you."

Soi Fon scowled, reminded of her situation. "How about we say I owe you one, and you get me out of here?"

Naruto blinked, his normal self suddenly coming back. "Uh…okay?"

After a couple of moments, Naruto had dug her out, and they were on their way back to the Second Division. They walked in silence, neither of them wanting to talk to the other.

As they approached Soi Fon's training grounds, Naruto began to notice random craters. "Uh, Soi-san? Why does the ground look like Swiss cheese?"

Soi Fon grimaced, glancing away as she growled. "Show me some respect! I'm a captain after all!"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I'm just not sure I could say something like that. Taicho sounds way too formal, and I've never been good with formal things." He glanced towards her. "But that's beside the point. You're avoiding my question."

Soi Fon sighed. "I've been working on a new technique. It's supposed to be a combination of Kido and Hakuda, but I haven't even brushed the surface of its true potential." Soi Fon glanced at Naruto. "Speaking of Kido, why didn't you use the incantations for the Hado you used back there? You obviously haven't grasped the full power behind it, and yet you still attempted to perform it despite how weak it was."

Naruto glared down at her. "Who are you calling weak?"

Soi Fon sighed. "You're stubborn. Here, let me show you." As Naruto began to protest, Soi Fon turned away, leveling her arm as she shouted. "Ye Lord! Mask of and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south! Hado 31: Shakkaho (_Crimson Flame Cannon_)!"

Naruto's mouth dropped as he watched the giant ball of flame shoot across the training field, _obliterating_ the target on the other side of the field. He had never seen Hado that powerful; much less perform the technique to that extent himself.

Soi Fon smirked. Something like that should have put him in his place. "And that is how you correctly perform a…"

She stopped herself as she looked up at Naruto's face. He had a small amount of drool coming from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were gleaming with a stupid grin going from ear to ear as he slightly bounced up and down. "Teach me! Teach me!"

"Uh…" Soi Fon suddenly felt very confused. She'd done this a few other times when people had shown her disrespect because of how she got the position of captain, and they would usually begin to back away from her. It helped keep her distant from others so that she could remain focused for when she and Yoruichi fought.

But this boy wasn't doing that. In fact, he was starting to come forward. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto stopped bouncing, his grin still plastered to his face. "I want to know how to do that! If I can use that technique without the incantation, then there's not telling how powerful I could eventually become!" Naruto suddenly became serious. "If you help teach me how to do that and anything else…I'll call you Taicho."

Soi Fon rubbed her chin thoughtfully. While it was obviously something that she had never done before, she was having a hard time saying no. After all, despite the fact that training with him, under any circumstance, wasn't something that she'd ever want to do, she might be willing to if it meant that he would show a certain amount of respect. "Alright, we'll see what we can do."

Naruto punched his fist into the air. "Thanks Taicho-sensei!"

Soi Fon palmed her face as Naruto began to jump around happily. "This might be more troublesome than I thought."

**Captain's Room**

Soi Fon closed the door behind herself as she entered her room. She was glad that Naruto was at the very least showing some respect, but now he wouldn't stop calling her 'Taicho-sensei'. It almost wasn't worth it anymore, and he'd just started saying it today. She rubbed her shoulders as she slowly sank down into a meditative position. She needed a moment or two to think things over; a moment of peace, and quiet.

She couldn't believe that she'd lost to those Hollows. Granted, she'd wasted a lot of energy when she'd been attempting to perform her new technique, but she should have made sure that she had more than enough for a formal battle should it ever come down to that. She had let her guard down when Naruto had come by, and she had suffered the consequences.

Speaking of Naruto, she was troubled by the fact that he wasn't leaving her thoughts. The 'Naruto' that had fought the three Hollows couldn't have been the same annoying one that everyone knew so well, right? He'd been far too serious, and focused to possibly be the same thick skulled person that she'd seen before. But then, she'd never seen him in action against Hollows before, so she couldn't know whether or not he was like that. After a moment, she figured that there was only one thing she could do.

Suddenly, there was a heavy knock at the door. "Come in."

She raised an eyebrow when she saw Marechiyo walk in. He knew good and well not to disturb her while she was meditating, and yet here he was. He bowed to her, a serious look etched on his face. "Taicho."

"What do you want?" Soi Fon asked, glaring at him.

He shuffled nervously. "Taicho, you gave me the job of doing the paperwork for the people in Special Forces due to the fact that you don't want Hitsugaya-taicho to know all that goes on in our division. During the time I was looking through them, I noticed that there was one name that didn't show up even once. I even double checked with all the different sections to make sure that I wasn't mistaken."

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow. She was certain that she'd sent everyone on a mission at least once; who could she have…

"It was Uzumaki Naruto, Taicho." Marechiyo said, filling in the name that she'd obviously missed. He gave her a look that was almost reproving. "I don't understand why you haven't sent him on even _one_ mission throughout the past year that he's been here. I would have thought that you would have, at the very least, sent him on one mission. He's a good recruit if there ever was one."

Soi Fon held up her hand, cutting him off. "I understand, but I do have my reasons."

Marechiyo crossed his arms. "I'm listening."

Soi Fon sighed. "You may not know this, but he is in my personal guard. I haven't gone out on any missions this year due to the fact that there haven't been any big Hollows that would require _my_ attention. As such, if he has been overlooked for many different missions that he could have gone on, it's not my fault. Also, I'm not sure how well he'd be accepted when he goes on a mission."

Marechiyo shook his head. "I don't think that would be a problem. I've seen how he interacts with the people from our division. If you had said that during the first few months, I probably would have laughed at you. But now, he's beaten almost everyone who's challenged him to a spar, as well as out run many of our fastest people. I think he's ready."

Soi Fon glared at him. "Are you the one who decides whose ready or not? Are you the one who gives out orders because I haven't?"

Marechiyo gulped. "No Taicho, but I am your vice captain. And as much as you would love to get rid of me for saying this, you know that I'm right."

Soi Fon closed her eyes, thinking it over. He had the qualities that they needed, and he could certainly handle himself. She sighed. "You do whatever you want. Just make sure that if you decide to send him out, you continue to do so. If he isn't sent on missions, it will be your fault. Understand?"

Marechiyo nodded. "Hai Taicho."

As he turned to leave, a thought occurred to Soi Fon. She quickly stopped him as he stood in the doorway. "Why exactly are you so interested in Uzumaki?"

Marechiyo glanced back at her. "He isn't from a prestigious clan, yet he managed to get into Special Forces. Normally, something like that would be both unheard of, as well as impossible. I simply don't want to waste future talent." After a couple of seconds, he added with a smile, "Plus, he's a really nice guy when you get to know him. A little slow, but nice."

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow. "When have you gotten to know him?"

Marechiyo grinned. "We go to the karaoke bar on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He is one of the funniest guys there, and he's a real hit with the girls. He's trying to help me get a girlfriend. Uh…it's a work in progress, but I'm getting better."

"…we have a karaoke bar?" Soi Fon asked, trying to figure out how she'd missed something as strange as that in the Seireitei.

Marechiyo shrugged. "I've only asked you a million times if you want to come. But you're always too busy. Anyways, I'll go tell Naruto what his first assignment is. Ja ne!"

Soi Fon looked on expressionlessly after Marechiyo after he closed the door. She rubbed the back of her head as she sighed. "I might just have to go and check that place out sometime…if I ever find the time."

**Thirteenth Division**

Sasuke quietly meditated as he listened to the world around him. It was amazing what he could hear when he drowned out everything else. It was so peaceful, so quiet, so…

"Here's the rest of the paperwork Sasuke-san!" A messenger said, dropping a load of papers next to him. The man's grin faltered when he saw how Sasuke was glaring at him. "Hey, don't kill me! I'm just the messenger, remember? Besides, am I really important enough to kill?"

"You're exactly the sort of person that no one would miss. And I know enough people that sending you to the fourth division wouldn't be that big of a deal either." Sasuke said, his glare not once leaving the man.

The man chuckled. "Do we have to go through this every time I drop off the paperwork? This old routine gets kind of dull when you've done it over a million times."

Sasuke shrugged. "You keep bringing it up. I'm not going to kill you, but you keep insinuating that I could possibly do so."

"Well, if looks could kill, I'd have already been dead a hundred times over."

"Hai, you would have been. Now do you mind? I've got work to do."

The messenger chuckled. "Alright. Have fun Sasuke-san!"

After the messenger left, Sasuke grimaced. "I hate paperwork."

"You sound like Naruto right now."

Sasuke glanced up. Kaien grinned as he looked at Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him. "You know, there are times when that is actually a good thing."

Kaien nodded. "I'm sure that he has his moments. However, saying that for paperwork isn't exactly the best thing, now is it?"

Sasuke sighed. "No, it isn't." He looked Kaien over, realization dawning on him. "You're not here just to say hello, are you?"

"Nope. I'm here to give you some good news and some bad news."

Sasuke blinked. "What news?"

Kaien grinned. "After consulting my sister, we have decided to 'adopt' you and Naruto into the Shiba clan. And trust me, it took a lot of talking to make her even consider this. This means that you would have the same rights, and privileges that the rest of us Shiba's have. Treated like royalty, given special privileges, and other cool stuff. Of course this decision would be entirely up to you whether you accepted it or not."

Sasuke sighed. "And what's the bad news?"

"People didn't want you in the clan, so we weren't allowed to take you in."

Sasuke stood up. "What? Why?"

Kaien shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly, I think that they don't want you in the Shiba clan because a few of the other clans are trying to get their hands on you, and for me to do something like that would bring up a lot of red tape that would be too much of a hassle to deal with."

Sasuke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, no one wanted Naruto?"

"He hasn't unlocked his Shikai yet, so they don't think he has enough potential for stuff like that. If he had unlocked his Shikai, he would probably be a little higher up in the rankings."

Sasuke nodded, staring off into the distance as he tried to think.

Naruto could be considered royalty now. He would be an adoptive member of the Shiba clan, and would have the full rights and privileges that they had. It was almost a reversal of fate. He was the one that everyone wanted, but Naruto was the one who was in a prestigious clan. He had the same things that at one point, Sasuke had been allowed to have. It had given him too much respect that he hadn't deserved, and he had paid dearly for it.

"Kaien, I want you to do something for me." Sasuke said, slowly thinking of what he was doing. Inside, he winced at what he was about to ask, his own selfish desires overcoming his common sense.

Kaien scratched the back of his head. "Uh, sure. What do you need?"

"Don't tell Naruto about this. At least…not yet."

Kaien looked shocked. "But why? He would be getting so much more opportunity, and would be allowed so much that he hasn't been allowed to have. Why would you…" Kaien stopped as he noticed Sasuke's look. "Oh. This is about your guy's past, isn't it?"

Sasuke nodded. "We don't talk about it much, but during the time I was alive, I was something like royalty where we were. I turned into a snobbish brat who believed he could get whatever he wanted just because he had a big name. Everyone in my clan believed that. That's why they got wiped out."

"They got wiped out? By whom?" Kaien asked, confused by what Sasuke was saying. He really didn't talk much about his past, and Kaien didn't ask. But for him to willingly tell him this was pretty big, and important.

"They were killed, by my brother." Sasuke noticed Kaien flinch in surprise as he continued. "I was the only survivor, and believed only in revenge and getting back at him for what he'd done. It brought pain and suffering to myself and to the people around me."

Kaien nodded. "So, you don't want Naruto to become someone who you were?" Kaien blinked as he thought it over. "But Sasuke, he wouldn't become you…at least, not the old you."

Sasuke nodded. "I know. But, there's also the fact that he's not mature enough to handle stuff like this right now. Maybe after he's achieved Shikai or something. Can we talk about it after that happens, please?"

Kaien grinned. "It's a deal."

Sasuke chuckled. "So, you'll help me with my paperwork?"

"Heck no! I've got my own stack to worry about. Do it yourself!"

As Kaien slammed the door behind himself, Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto has no idea how lucky he is. And while it might not make sense to Kaien…I just want to be the person to tell him. His reactions are always so fun to watch."

**Konoha**

"I don't understand. What is this thing?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's stronger than anything I've ever seen! It's got to be at least as strong as the Kyuubi was!"

A giant human-serpentine creature, with two large arms protruding from either side of its body began to slide through the village. "Kukuku, run while you s~till can, Konoha shinobi. But once this~ of cat and mouse is~ over, I will feast the likes~ of which have never been seen!"

Normal citizens screamed as they were caught up in the serpent's path, crushed as it ignored them and slide over them. It cackled as it watched the people flee in .

"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Multiple voices shouted as several balls of flame began to shoot toward the serpent.

The serpent screeched as the flame hit it. A few other people cheered, thinking that they had somehow been able to wound it. This enthusiasm was quickly crushed as the serpent grabbed one of the offending shinobi and sank its fangs into him. He screamed as the serpent slowly began to swallow him. Some shinobi began to flee from the sight, while others quickly charged forward.

"Our Hokage's coming!" One person shouted excitedly, pointing in the direction of Tsunade.

The serpent chuckled. "What do you know, fresh meat."

Tsunade glared at the serpent. "Haven't we had enough of you?"

The serpent looked at her curiously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Tsunade's glare intensified. "Be gone Orochimaru! You aren't allowed in my village!"

She jumped forward, slamming her fist into the serpent's chest. It went sliding back, sliding through several houses. It gave Tsunade a whimsical look as it spoke. "I am not this~, Orochimaru. Orochimaru is~ dead."

Tsunade glanced at the serpent. "If you are not Orochimaru, than what are you?"

The serpent grinned. "I am Akogi (_Greed_)."

"Tsunade-sama!"

The warning came too late, as Akogi slammed its tail into her, completely crushing her under its weight. A few medics ran over to her, but they all knew that even the great Tsunade could not have survived something like that. As they reached her, they realized that Akogi was overshadowing them. The last thing they saw was the inside of Akogi's mouth before they were crushed by its fangs.

Akogi screeched to the skies as it laughed at their pain. "Yes~, run, cower before me! I will have the power to crush nations within my fingers. And then, I will become as a…no, I will become a God!"

Sakura, Lee, Hinata, Shikamaru, Shino, and many other shinobi watched as Akogi crushed their village. After a moment, they split up, trying to get behind it so that they could attack it quickly. However, Akogi noticed their movements, and quickly lashed out with a blast of some strange energy the likes of which they'd never seen before. All that they could tell was that it wasn't chakra, and that it was much more powerful than anything that they'd ever seen before.

The blast destroyed several blocks as it tore through the village. Luckily, none of them were hurt as they continued their counterattack. Shino let out a swarm of bug, Sakura attempted to hit Akogi, Lee began to open the gates as he charged forward, Shikamaru's shadow began to bind it, and Hinata activated her Byakugan. As Hinata did her part, she noticed something was wrong. "Wait! Don't go near it!"

Too late, each of the people who had gone in for a full frontal assault were shocked to find that they moment their techniques hit it, the chakra behind it was gone, and their power was quickly fading. "Feed me little children. You tas~te s~o s~weet."

Hinata began to vomit at what she was seeing. With her Byakugan, she could see all of their energy being _ripped_ out of them. Not absorbed, _ripped_ out of them. It was tearing this chakra coils apart as their chakra went into the creature. Within moments, all of their chakra was gone, and they all collapsed. Hinata glanced up at Akogi, in her eyes as it glared down at her. "At least now…I'll be with Naruto-kun."

Akogi laughed. "I don't think so little . Your precious Naruto-kun is dead. You on the other hand, aren't just going to die. You're soul is going to 'die' as well."

Hinata glanced at Akogi, fear dancing in her eyes. "Then, what's going to happen to me?"

Akogi shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But I'll tell you this much, it won't be pretty. Of course, that's only for you; I'm going to enjoy this so much!"

Hinata gasped as Akogi suddenly crushed her beneath its hands. As she died, she had a look of on her face. Life was too cruel.

Akogi glanced around, hearing the screams of the people around it. "Ah, what a way to end the day."

As Akogi spoke, another figure suddenly appeared behind it. "Akogi, it's time to go. You've had your feast, now we must return to the Between."

Akogi growled. "I don't want to. I'm s~till not powerful enough. I want more!"

"Patience Akogi. If you attempt to continue with this, _He_ will not be pleased. And then he will hunt you down and remove your power."

Akogi glared at the figure. They remained that way for a moment, before Akogi finally gave in with a sigh. "Fine, you win. But I swear, you're the most loyal momma's boy I've ever seen. I mean, you never seem to do what you want to do. You're so boring!"

"That is your opinion. It would be best if you kept it too yourself."

"Aw, did I hit a sore spot?"

The figure glanced up, power rolling off it as it spoke. "Desist. If you do not, I will take care of you personally."

Akogi grumbled. "You don't have too be such a pain. I was just joking."

"Enough of this. We do not wish to make him wait." As it spoke, a portal began to open. The figure glanced at Akogi. "Are you coming?"

Akogi nodded. "Yea, I'm coming. But you have got to stop being so touchy when I'm being sarcastic. Seriously, do you even have emotions?"

The figure said nothing as they both faded into the portal, leaving Konoha, the once great village, in ruins.

**AN: Hey everyone! I've actually had this chapter done for a couple of days, but the site wasn't letting me log into my account. That, and I had to rewrite this thing at least five times before I got it semi-decent. Who would have thought that this little fight scene could have been so freaking difficult!**

**Now there's something I bet you didn't see coming. The Konoha scene is how I plan on keeping Naruto and Sasuke from returning to Konoha. However, I do plan on doing a little bit of messing around, so don't get too comfortable.**

**Anyways, there isn't much to say right now. So until my next chapter, ja ne!**

**Draco Kamikaze**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'M BACK!!!**

**That's right, I have decided that because no one wanted to ask to finish this story, I will have to finish it! And so, we begin!**

* * *

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

"This is impossible."

"But these were taken movements after the attack had ended. These pictures are one hundred percent correct. This has actually happened."

"But…how can this be?"

The captains were all holding the same picture in their hands, given to them by Yamamoto and Kurotsuchi. In the picture was what could only be called a wasteland. There were hollowed out souls, looking similar to those of souls that had been eaten by Hollows. However, the physical damage to the surrounding area made a few of the people wonder what could have possibly happened. It looked more like a large group of Menos had run rampant through the area; which could not be possible as the markings and residual reiatsu signature indicated _one_ attacker.

"Do you have any leads?" Yamamoto asked, glancing over at Kurotsuchi, who rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not quite sure. But from the damage, I'd guess that whatever happened here happened to their bodies, and to their souls simultaneously. The impossibility of this is obvious…but still, it happened." Kurotsuchi grinned. "If you'll let me run some tests…"

"No way!" Ukitake said, glaring at Kurotsuchi. "This sort of thing, in your hands _might_ be safe if we considered trusting you…but we have no insurance about that. Or even what ulterior purpose your so called 'tests' would be serving."

Kurotsuchi frowned. "What I research on, and who I'm researching for are my business. Simply knowing how our enemy did this could give us a way of find him, and stopping him from doing it again. Of course, this foe would make an interesting test subject in and of itself. How it was able to perform the obliteration of Konoha without anyone knowing is beyond me. It would be a jewel amongst my research."

"You have no sense of decency, do you Kurotsuchi?" Sajin said, barely glancing in his general direction as he spoke.

Kurotsuchi growled. "And what would a bucket head like you know about science? Having 'morals' or any sense of 'decency' would simply impede the progression of my glorious work. And then, the Seireitei have time and power lost because of something as trivial as morals."

"Morals give you something to fight for. Something to make even the weakest of Bankai's a force to be reckoned with." Ukitake said, an almost hushed tone to his voice.

Kurotsuchi scoffed. "So says the sick man. You can't even have whatever your sick with healed, can you? I've seen your Bankai, and it's power is not so powerful, even with your morals." Kurotsuchi suddenly turned his glare onto Soi Fon. "And you…do you even have a Bankai? I know for a fact that I was placed as the Twelfth Division captain before you were placed as the Second, but I do not recall having ever scene your Bankai."

Soi Fon closed her eyes, not bothering to shift her position as she spoke. "I shouldn't _have_ to reveal my Bankai. I have the speed and power to take out an enemy without needing to ever use a Bankai."

"So, what you're basically saying is that you don't have Bankai?" Kurotsuchi said with a dark grin on his face, trying to egg her on.

"That's not what I said. I said that I don't need to use my Bankai."

Kurotsuchi's grin widened. "So you do have a Bankai?"

Soi Fon glanced away. "Yes. I have a Bankai."

Kurotsuchi twitched obviously irritated by the fact that she was not giving anything away, as well as the blatant lack of respect for her fellow captain. He opened his mouth to send out another barrage of questions, but was stopped by Yamamoto.

"Enough Kurotsuchi." Yamamoto said, stopping him from continuing his tirade. "If there is any problems, I will talk with Soi Fon, not you. Are we clear?"

Kurotsuchi sighed. "Alright. But if we've got a captain that can't hold her own in a large fight that is bound to happen…we could be seriously screwed."

Yamamoto nodded. "Be that as it may, I have confidence in her skills. Now, we need to get back to the task at hand. What other reports do you have on the people of Konoha?"

Kurotsuchi shrugged. "Not much really. There's supposed to have been a few people who actually survived this massacre, but they're already in the academy, so we don't have to worry about finding them. They're progressing decently, but I doubt they'll ever get to the point that Naruto and Sasuke have gotten to."

Yamamoto nodded. "That is true for many people." He glanced around the room. "We have no idea what this threat is, or how it managed to destroy so many souls. However, we do recognize that this is a threat to the Seireitei as we know it. Tell your Division's to remain on guard, and to train hard to prepare for anything that may come up. Are we clear?" After a quick chorus of 'yes sotaicho's', he stood up. "You are dismissed. Remember, don't tell anyone about this incident; especially Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. They might not take the news well, and we don't need any more rouges out there. Understood?"

After another chorus of yes', they began to filter out of the room. "Soi Fon, please stay here for a moment."

"Busted." Kurotsuchi whispered, grinning widely as he continued out of the room.

Soi Fon took a deep breath as she stood before Yamamoto. "Yes Sotaicho?"

"I need to ask you something…about Naruto and yourself."

Soi Fon nodded. "Yes?"

"How have you and him gotten along?"

Soi Fon blinked in surprise. She had expected him to ask something about his talents, or mission abilities. But a personal question, she wasn't sure what to say. She opened her mouth to give a generic answer, but suddenly found it difficult to speak. She tried to take another breath, feeling the air catch in her throat. Ignoring it, she finally spoke. "I'm not sure…what you mean."

Yamamoto sighed. "What I mean is; have you had any problems with Naruto's personality?"

Soi Fon relaxed slightly. "Oh. Well, he is a hard working member of the Second Division. One of the best recruits I've ever seen. Personally, he could almost make fourth or third seat in any division if he could unlock his Shikai. He does have a few faults, but I'm working on…"

"That's not what I meant." Yamamoto said, interrupting her suddenly. He leaned forward slightly so that they were almost eye level. "How are your handling Uzumaki Naruto's presence?"

"Personally?" Soi Fon asked, looking at Yamamoto in confusion.

"Yes."

Soi Fon glanced down trying to pick out her words as tactically as possible. "He…he is a strange boy. He's caught onto some Kido manipulation faster than anyone that I've ever taught. He's even gotten to the point that I'm considering his help with a…difficult project I have. However, he is still just a subordinate."

Yamamoto nodded, standing straight. He began to pace as he once again spoke. "I suppose that is understandable. What with Yoruichi's departure, and betrayal of the Seireitei, you have had a problem with people getting close to you."

"It helps me focus." Soi Fon replied curtly.

Yamamoto continued on as though she hadn't spoken. "You 'attack' your division members."

"To keep them on their toes."

"And make it rather difficult for some of the newer recruits to receive the team support that they require."

"You can't say that! A team is a powerful unit, but is only as strong as the combination of the individual members. New recruits aren't ready for missions like that!" Soi Fon yelled, grinding her teeth as she spoke. Yamamoto had _never_ questioned her methods. They both knew that it more than got the job done.

Yamamoto glanced at her again, slamming his cane into the ground. "And yet you have had no qualms in sending Naruto into the field. What is the difference between them?"

Soi Fon nearly jumped. She blinked in surprise as she stared at Yamamoto. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You have sent Naruto on several high ranked missions that could have ended a lot worse considering his lack of Shikai. What has he done to be allowed to go on these missions?"

"There weren't any casualties!" Soi Fon yelled, stepping forward as she spoke. "After reading their reports, all the members of the team said that if it hadn't been for him, they wouldn't have made it out alive. We need every available person in case of anything and everything."

Yamamoto nodded. "Go on. What else is there?"

"He's a natural born leader, rallying the team around him to get them to work better. He knows them better than they might know themselves, and uses them as he sees fit. He also knows and understands them outside of the mission field. He can take a bad situation and flip it around. He…he…oh." Soi Fon said, recognition slowly dawning on her. "Are you trying to say that…that he is like…Yoruichi?"

Yamamoto nodded. "Yes, I am. He has the spirit and energy that she had, and was able to bring out the best in you when she was here. In fact, I have noticed that you are more involved in the participation of our meetings nowadays. Perhaps he will be able to heal you." A small smile crossed his face. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you go on some of his missions? It will give you a chance to see how he interacts with the rest of the team."

Soi Fon bit her lip. "I don't know. There's enough that I need to get done as it is. And there aren't any Hollows that require my attention."

"Then do the second best. I want to know how this will play out. Now go."

Soi Fon bowed as she turned to walk away. Right as she was walking out the door, she heard Yamamoto call out, "Good luck Soi Fon."

She turned around, only to find that Yamamoto was no longer there. She shook her head. "I must be hearing things." She slowly made her way back towards her division, trying to figure out what she needed to do.

* * *

**One Week Later**

Seven figures silently crouched down as they glared across the open field. Throughout the field were a small gathering of Hollows; for what purpose, they didn't know. But, to prevent a Menos from appearing because of the gathering, they needed to eliminate the gathering, fast. If they didn't, the consequences would be felt by everyone in the Seireitei.

But then, who better to do something like this than members of the Second Division?

The leader of the group silently gave a signal, motioning for them to spread out. One of them stayed behind for a second longer than the others before spreading out with the others. The leader sighed as she waved a series of signals for them to follow. The final signal was what they'd been waiting for, as she pointed her hand towards the Hollows. The message was simple; attack.

The six other figures jumped out into the open field. For a brief moment, none of the Hollows reacted to their presence, oblivious to the incoming Shinigami. Then, as the first few began to fall to their blades, chaos ensued. Unsure of what was going on, the Hollows began striking out at everything around them, whether it was a Shinigami or not. Within moments, more than half of the Hollows were disposed of.

With precise movements, the seven Shinigami move through the ranks of Hollows as they continued their assault. Dodging the occasional random appendage, their drawn swords made quick work of them. After a few moments, which almost felt like an eternity to the Shinigami, the Hollows were completely dispersed from the area. Most of the Hollows had been taken down in the initial attack, many more to 'friendly-fire' if you could call Hollows friends. However, the remainder of Hollows had either panicked, or realized they were not safe anymore, and had fled back to Hueco Mundo. An almost flawless strike on what could have become a rather situation.

The leader of the group turned back to the group. "Alright, let's head back to our barracks. We've done enough for now, and I doubt that the Hollows will be returning here any time soon."

"Awesome." One of the Shinigami said, sounding a little more disappointed than relieved. A few of the others groaned at his remark, knowing that it would not sit well with their leader.

Glancing over to him, the leader stared him down. "Is there something wrong Uzumaki?"

Naruto grinned behind his mask. "Of course not Taicho-sensei."

Soi Fon silently groaned as a few of the other members chuckled. Just as Naruto had promised, Naruto had quickly taken to calling her by her respective title. However, Naruto saw fit that as long as she was teaching him how to do the Hado chant less, he would also add on the title 'sensei'. Unfortunately, she later found that just like his childish nature would generally suggest, he had a _very_ short attention span. This led to Soi Fon rubbing her head as she tried not to strangle the poor man as his technique blew up in his face time and time again.

And yet, there was more to it than that. Time had gone on since their encounter at her training grounds; almost eighteen years give or take a year. Naruto had hardly changed from the boy she'd first encountered, but that did not change the fact that she had already seen his other side. His dangerous side. She never saw it during his training sessions with the rest of the division, or even in their personal training. It was another side of him, a mystery that she wanted to know more about.

In a way, she was almost glad that Yamamoto had ordered her to go on a mission with him. Watching him, she hoped to see where it fit in. How was it that someone as cheerful and childish as him could be like that. However, she had been too focused on the Hollows and the overall team performance, that she had missed any opportunity to look for it. She had enough information for the Sotaicho, but was unsure of whether or not she should turn in the initial results. Maybe if she went on a few more missions…

Soi Fon sighed. "Alright then, if there is nothing else that you wish to speak to me about, you are all dismissed."

There was a quick shout of the affirmative from the other five members as they quickly began their trek back to the barracks. Naruto however, stayed behind as he stood with Soi Fon in the middle of an empty field. He had a mischievous look on his face, one that promised trouble for anyone on the receiving end of whatever his scheme was.

Soi Fon glared at Naruto. "What is it Uzumaki?"

Naruto sighed. "And here I thought we were on better terms with each other. Why won't you just call me by my first name? It sounds so, informal. Like I'm just a last name."

Soi Fon did not lower her glare as she slowly spoke to Naruto. "Uzumaki, if you have something to say, I suggest that you do so before I leave."

"Alright, alright, geeze." Naruto said, feinting surrender. However, as soon as he said this, he seemed to go right back to the way he was before, staring at her in silence.

Finally, Soi Fon snapped. "What do you want Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. "Was that so hard?"

Soi Fon glared at him in confusion. He had avoided saying whatever it was that needed to be said just so that she would say his name? Truly he was the _King_ of idiots. "No, but that isn't the point. Were you just standing around waiting for me to say that, or do you have something to say to me?"

Naruto shrugged. "No, not really. Although, I've gotta say, that was much more rewarding than I thought it would be."

Soi Fon shook her head before running off towards the barracks. Naruto watched her go, a small amount of dissatisfaction crossing his face as he watched her go. There _was_ something he wanted to say, things he wanted to ask her. However, even he knew better than to talk about things like her past. It was dangerous territory. Besides that, he had found that for some reason or other, people were naturally inclined to mention their past to him. Mainly enemies.

Naruto groaned in frustration as he lightly began to jog back to the barracks. All the while, he ignored a small pain that was through his left arm, and down his right leg.

**

* * *

**Naruto grumbled to himself as he walked down the streets of the Seireitei. After his last mission, there was nothing else that he could do to occupy his time. He tried talking Soi Fon into putting a little extra training time, but she turned him away telling him she was not some kind of stamina freak. Whatever that meant. And some of the other people he was close to had mysteriously gone missing for a while, which meant that there was _nothing_ to do.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair. He had found himself being alone a lot more as time had gone by, and had looked for ways to entertain himself. After a little thought, he casually decided to go over his training again.

Training seemed to be all that he could ever do nowadays. He pushed himself harder and harder as he tried to become a successful, and competent Shinigami. But then, something was off. His physical abilities were continually growing, so that was not much of an issue. In fact, he was currently the strongest member of Second Division besides Marechiyo. And even then, Marechiyo was mostly throwing his weight around. However, that did not seem so in other areas.

His reiatsu power, as well as his control over it, were not getting any better. He had heard that practice made perfect, and had tried to practice as much as he could. But time and time again, he found that his abilities we not growing any more than they had during his time at the Academy. In fact, they almost seemed to be _weakening_ in contrast to some of his friends. It was only sheer willpower that held a great deal of his techniques together.

In contrast, Sasuke was an excellent example of someone who was getting stronger. He had risen in rank during his time in the Thirteenth Division, a fourth seated officer. His control over Raikiri was superb, and most of his lower leveled Bakudo could be done chant less. Naruto _did_ find that he had an edge in the physical sense, but that could mostly be taken apart by Sasuke's Shunpo.

Naruto growled in frustration. He knew better than to compare himself to other people; he had seen where that had gotten people. And yet, his thoughts were almost revolving around Sasuke and how much stronger he was getting. How elated he had become due to the constant training that he had been going through in the Thirteenth Division. Kaien was doing his best to help both of them, but he did have other things he had to worry about too.

Naruto was so focused on his thoughts that he was almost taken off guard when a sudden shadow crossed over him. Almost.

"L-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-lucky!!!"

Naruto spun around, blankly staring at the sight before him. There, standing behind him, were Ikkaku and Yumichika. But that wasn't entirely what he was staring at. Ikkaku was grinning like some kind of idiot, and stomping his feet on the ground as he danced in place. Naruto blinked for a moment before finally bursting out laughing.

Ikkaku scowled at Naruto. "Don't laugh at my Lucky Dance! It has become a tradition to alert my opponents of my presence, so as to make my battles all the more invigorating!"

Naruto waved a hand as he struggled for breath. "I'm sorry. It's just, I've been looking for something to do, and the first people I run into are two of my favorite members of the Eleventh Division, who just so happen to love a good fight." Glancing up at Ikkaku, a mischievous grin crossed his face. "That was why you stopped by, right?"

Ikkaku grinned back, a slightly more ic tint it than Naruto's. "Of course, there's no better than that of a good fight."

Naruto glanced at Yumichika. "And you?"

Yumichika shrugged. "I just came along to make sure that you two didn't kill each other. No need to get myself hurt fighting two people less pretty than I am."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, and glanced at Ikkaku. Ikkaku shrugged. "I swear it keeps on getting worse. And no matter how many times I hear it, it's always annoying."

Naruto grinned as Ikkaku ignored the glare Yumichika was sending his way. "So, we gonna do this, or what?"

Ikkaku grinned. "Of course." Quickly drawing his sword, he rushed forward in an attempt to catch Naruto off guard.

Naruto quickly saw through this, as he drew his own sword far faster than he himself had thought possible, catching Ikkaku by surprise as their swords collided inches from Naruto's face. Naruto simply grinned as he turned to the offensive, using a wide variety of attacks in an attempt to break through Ikkaku's defense.

Ikkaku mentally cursed to himself as he continued to block Naruto's zanpakuto. It was obvious from the first blow that Naruto outmatched him in terms of raw strength, and he speed was not something to scoff at either. Ikkaku found that at some point during the barrage, he had drawn his scabbard as well, and was using it to block the oncoming blows with both the scabbard and his sword. And even with the scabbard helping, he was slowly getting pushed back.

He had not had this much fun in a while, and he was going to enjoy it.

Grinning like a maniac, he dodged another blow from Naruto's zanpakuto, and quickly began his own barrage, putting Naruto on the defensive. Unlike himself, however, Naruto stood his ground and shook off each of his blows with practiced ease.

It was soon apparent that this was not going to get him anywhere. Past experience told him that once Naruto decided to stop messing around and speed things up, he was done for. So, there was only one option left to him, though he was not quite fond of doing so.

"Nobiro, Hozukimaru. (_Grow, Light_)" Ikkaku said, quickly slamming his sword's hilt into his scabbard. After a quick moment, the sword had fused with the scabbard, becoming a sort of naginata.

Naruto's eyes quickly went over the waxed wooden shaft, mentally noting the red horsehair tassel at the end of the pommel. "I didn't know you'd unlocked your Shikai…nice stick." He commented as he slowly changed his stance.

Ikkaku grinned. "Just you wait. This _stick_ has a few tricks up its sleeves."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as Ikkaku once again rushed forward. Unlike his previous strikes, his current ones seemed to have more power behind them, as he was using both hands to strike. Naruto on the other hand, was busy trying to avoid getting damaged by some of the heavier strikes.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. While he was sure that Ikkaku was one of the stronger opponents he had faced, he was also certain that he himself was no pushover.

_So why is it that the blows are getting heavier?_ Naruto thought to himself as he barely dodged another blow. Bringing his sword up, he attempted to once again go on the offensive. However, Ikkaku saw through it, and made a quick jab at him to deter any further progression.

Naruto slid to the outside of the thrust, easily dodging the blow as he spun into Ikkaku's guard. With one quick movement, he slammed his hand through Hozukimaru and into Ikkaku's stomach. With an undignified grunt, he shoved Ikkaku back into a wall, where Ikkaku slumped over.

Yumichika slowly clapped his hands as he walked over. "Impressive. I haven't seen Ikkaku taken out so quickly since the few times he's challenged our taicho."

Naruto nodded. It was generally understood that only fools would go up against Kenpachi Zaraki, and fewer still lived to tell the tale. However, people who gravitated towards Naruto were not generally considered in the best of mental health.

Yumichika sighed as he looked down on Ikkaku. "Would you mind helping him up?"

Naruto grinned. "Sure, why not?"

As he moved to help pick Ikkaku up, however, a sudden sharp pain erupted from his left side. Gasping at the sudden pain, Naruto pulled back his kimono to see what was wrong. To his astonishment, there was a long wound near his ribcage. "Huh, I guess he did get me."

Yumichika glanced up at Naruto. "Uh, are you gonna help?"

Naruto shook his head. "Uh, yea. Where're we taking him?"

"Eleventh Division. He should be fine after a bit of rest." Yumichika said as he looked over Ikkaku's bruised form. After a moment, he glanced up at Naruto. "And then you're going to Fourth Division."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

Yumichika gave Naruto a firm glare. "Naruto, I saw the battle. You didn't get a scratch on you. But right now, you acted like you'd just been punched in the gut. What's up?"

Naruto grimaced. "Nothing. At least, it should be nothing."

Yumichika just shook his head. "You know what, I think I'll be able to take care of Ikkaku by myself. You go get whatever injury you're hiding checked out. And don't think of skipping out. Me and Ikkaku keep ourselves on good terms with the members of Fourth Division, and they'd easily rat out if you didn't come and see them."

Naruto grinned. "Maybe telling you guys to do that was a bad idea."

Yumichika shrugged. "You might say that."

A sudden grunt came from Ikkaku as he slowly shook his head. "Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a ton of bricks. What happened?"

"You lost, that's what happened." Naruto said, poking Ikkaku's bald head.

Ikkaku glanced up. "You gotta be kidding me. I didn't even hit…uh, Naruto. You're bleeding."

Naruto glanced down at his shirt, noticing the wound beginning to seep onto his clothes. "It's nothing. Just a wound I got from my last mission. I was actually planning on heading over to Fourth Division to get it checked out."

Ikkaku shook his head. "That'll take to long. You'll probably bleed out before you get all the way. Here." Ikkaku grabbed his now detached scabbard and pulled out a bit of ointment. "Rub this over it. It'll increase the clotting so that you can make it to Fourth in one piece. Hanataro helped me make it."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks."

Naruto quickly pulled off his shirt and in one, quick motions smeared the ointment over the wound. "Thanks Ikkaku. I owe you one."

Ikkaku shook his head. "You owe me another battle. That was cheap, you know? Fighting me with a previous injury was a pretty low blow, even for you."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I just couldn't say no to your challenge. Anyways, I'd better get going. See you later!"

As Naruto quickly made his way to the Fourth Division barracks, Ikkaku nudged Yumichika. "Hey, did you see that? I don't think I've ever seen a wound like that before."

Yumichika nodded. "It looked like a stab wound, but it was going the wrong way. It looked like he somehow had a sword cut him from the inside out."

Ikkaku nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Plus, did you see how he was moving?"

"You mean how he was walking completely fine before you fought, and afterword he was limping? Like he hadn't had an injury before you'd fought, and was lying about it to save face?"

Ikkaku narrowed his eyes. "Yea, that's what I was talking about."

Yumichika sighed. "I don't know what to say. That sort of wound, and the fact that it's Naruto we're talking about could just be an overexertion from training. But somehow, I don't think that's the case. It just, didn't look like something even Naruto could do."

"Should we tell someone?" Ikkaku asked, finally pulling himself from the small pile of dust that had been made when he had been slammed into the wall.

"Who would we tell? Something that's impossible like that wouldn't be easy to explain."

"It wouldn't be easy to ignore either." Ikkaku pointed out, staring at the place where Naruto had left.

"That's true. But who could we tell? Sasuke?"

Ikkaku shook his head. "They don't talk as much as they use to."

"Well what about Kaien?"

"I heard he just recently got a newbie from the Kuchiki clan. He's bound to have his hands full."

Yumichika shrugged. "I'm out of ideas."

Ikkaku blinked, a sudden thought coming to his head. "I've got one."

Yumichika's head snapped towards him in mock surprise. "You? You had an idea? Why, this is just madness!"

Ikkaku rolled his eyes. "Oh would you leave it alone and hear me out?"

Yumichika nodded. After listening to Ikkaku quickly whisper it into his ear, nodding every couple of seconds, he turned to him in shock. "That's actually pretty good. Do you think we can pull it off?"

Ikkaku grinned. "Fighting might be my favorite pass time, but making mischief has come to a close second."

"I assume we can blame our friend for that?"

Ikkaku's grin widened. "Sure. Of course, you know that you enjoy it too."

Yumichika nodded. "You're right, this will be fun. Plus, I've always harbored a small grudge against Naruto. Now's the perfect time for payback."

Ikkaku glanced at Yumichika curiously. "What'd he do?"

Yumichika grimaced as he turned his head away. "He changed all my kimonos to a dull wisteria purple color, instead of the bright azure that he did some of the others." Noticing Ikkaku struggling to hold back his laughter, he continued. "It's not my fault. How was I supposed to know that picking on potential Fourth Division recruits would end like that?"

Ikkaku just laughed at his poor friend's 'misfortune'.

* * *

Sasuke slowly rubbed his head as he looked at the crowd in front of him. They were all looking into a room which apparently had someone in it. From what he could tell, she was the newly transferred student from the Shinigami Academy he had heard about; the one who had been adopted by the Kuchiki clan. He had heard of similar cases, where clans had done things like that, but had never met any of the people lucky enough to be adopted. (He did not consider Naruto as one of those people, as he had yet to tell him that Kaien had adopted him.)

However, despite being someone of considerable status, her attitude was more like a rabbit being thrown to a bunch of foxes. She seemed insecure about herself, shuffling back and forth as she glanced around the room. He had overheard what she had asked the man who had brought her, to treat her like any other member of Thirteenth Division. It was a strange request to be sure; Kuchiki's generally held a high status, and were respected as such, so for one to ask that was ridiculous. And yet…

"What are you idiot's doing? Get back to your posts, morons!"

Sasuke grinned as he watched the gathering scatter in the wake of Kaien's wrath. Kaien pointedly marched into the room, saluting the young woman as he made a quick introduction. "I am fukutaicho Shiba Kaien! Nice to meet you!"

Sasuke smiled lightly as he looked in on her confused face. "…yes…hello…"

Kaien screwed up his face in mock anger. "'Yes hello'? What's your problem?" He asked, roughly placing his hand on her head. She leaned back somewhat in shock as Kaien leaned towards her. "The vice-captain just introduced himself to you! You should give your name and say 'nice to meet you too'! Your name!?"

By this point Sasuke was chuckling lightly. She obviously had never had this kind of treatment before, and was obviously unsure of how to react. However, she was not thick enough to realize that she should probably answer his question. "…I…I'm Kuchiki Rukia…"

Kaien stared at her. "Okay…and then?"

"N…Nice to meet you!" She somehow blurted out.

Sasuke shook his head. He knew that Kaien was laying it on a bit thick, but even so, it was still rather amusing to watch as she tried to figure out what was going on. He was sure that no one else had received that sort of welcome from Kaien, and was positive that the formalities behind any and all name were gone the moment she finished introducing herself.

Kaien grinned and he gave her a up. "Good! That's how you do it Rukia! Welcome to Thirteenth Division. Because our taicho is weak and sick, I'm usually in charge of everything. Therefore, you may call me 'Taicho' Kaien if you want."

Rukia looked at Kaien with what could only be called pure confusing as she thought of how to respond. "…okay…I'll think about it…"

Sasuke slapped his face as he listened in. If Rukia called him 'Taicho', other people would likely follow suit seeing as she was a Kuchiki. Sasuke was almost certain that he was telling her that just to see if she would, and just how fast other people would start to call him by the same title.

After another couple of moments, Kaien finally dismissed Rukia. Moments after she had left the room, Sasuke slowly entered.

Kaien glanced up at Sasuke. "Uh…hi."

Sasuke smirked. "Hey _Taicho_. How are you?"

"Ah, so you overheard that?" Kaien asked, looking away sheepishly.

"Every word. I liked the part where you were yelling at her about giving her name and saying 'nice to meet you'. I thought you pulled that off flawlessly." Sasuke said, sarcasm evident as he finished talking.

Kaien shrugged. "Yea well, for someone of her status, she needs to know that she's just like everyone else here. I could care less what family she's from, as long as she's a lower rank than me, I plan on treating her as my subordinate."

Sasuke nodded. "Good to hear." An almost uncomfortable silence suddenly fell on them, neither of them sure of what to say. After a moment of thought, Sasuke decided to go first. "So, I heard your wife's the third seat now. Congrats."

Kaien grinned. "I always knew she was strong, so her promotion was something we were both kind of looking forward to. Although, I'm kinda surprised she didn't get placed in the vice-captain position."

Sasuke glanced at him curiously. "And why's that?"

Kaien chuckled. "Like all women of the Shiba clan, she's got me completely under her thumb. If she wanted, she could probably get me to sit, roll over and bark."

Sasuke chuckled at the mental image of Kaien acting like a dog. It was not something you saw someone of his status doing. Then, another thought crossed his mind. "Oh crap."

Kaien glanced over to Sasuke curiously. "What's up?"

Sasuke glanced away nervously. "I was supposed to see Naruto today, to catch up on current events. But I kinda got sidetracked by you introducing Rukia."

Kaien raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? How long ago were you supposed to be there?"

"About an hour ago."

Kaien blinked. "Dang, and here I thought Naruto wasn't punctual."

Sasuke glared at him. "The time we meet is in a half hour. I get there early to see how late he really is."

"…at least you have your humor."

"Shut up." Sasuke said, as he quickly made his way out of the barracks. Kaien just grinned as he watched him go.

* * *

Soi Fon sighed as she set down the last form into the 'out' box. She'd gotten done more than a little bit early with her paperwork, which she generally tried to draw out a little more than other captains would. Almost glaring at the out box, she slowly stood up, and made her way to her room.

Despite the fact that paperwork was one of the most boring things that captains had to do, Soi Fon found that it was helpful. It was not because it was enjoyable, far from it. She had almost the same amount of loathing for paperwork as any other captain would. It kept her mind off of things that she would rather not think about…like Yoruichi.

Soi Fon gently massaged her head as she slowly sat down in her room. Her mind was betraying her as she struggled to find something to think about besides Yoruichi. Memory after memory played through her mind as she remembered all the times she had spent with Yoruichi in the past. Gritting her teeth, she tried in vain to think of something else. Anything, just as long as it was as far away from Yoruichi as possible.

"Why did you leave?" Soi Fon quietly asked herself. It was something that she found herself asking more and more as time had passed.

Groaning in frustration, she slowly stood up and walked towards her private training ground. She knew that no one would be there, and it would be a perfect place to let loose some steam. She could almost feel the reiatsu seeping from her hands as she finally entered the secluded training grounds.

Drawing her sword, she quickly began a flurry of movements. She wasn't sure what she planned on accomplishing, but she continued to react on instinct. Bringing her sword around so that it was parallel to the ground, she whipped it around in a circular sweeping motion. As she completed the circle, she sharply brought her sword up.

Before she could continue the movement however, she heard the snap of a branch behind her. Still in battle mode, she spun around as quickly as she could, slashing at whoever it was. However, before it made contact with the person, it was met with the clang of steel on steel. Slowly looking up, her focused expression turned to one of confusion. "What are you doing here?"

The figure in front of her just grinned. "I just came here to talk to you about a friend of mine."

* * *

Naruto grimaced as he lifted his arm. "How bad does it look?"

Hanataro glanced up at Naruto. "Uh, I'm not sure. I've honestly never seen whatever kind of wound this is. I mean, it's split open from the inside out. There shouldn't be anything that can create a wound like this." Hanataro bit his lip as he thought over all the different things that caused wounds. He knew that there were Hollows that could perform with some unusual abilities, even more so recently. However, even something like this was completely unheard of. "Uh, maybe I should take to Unohana-taicho."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, go ahead. I've still got another twenty minutes or so."

Hanataro nodded before rushing off. Naruto was not the sort of person who openly admitted to pain or other such things. He kept things on his own shoulders, soldiering on through thick and thin. It was one of the reasons that Naruto had become something akin to an idol for him. A brave person who did everything he could for his friends and those he considered family.

Almost as soon as Hanataro left, Naruto leaned back and sighed. He knew for a fact that he had been uninjured before, during, and immediately after his last mission. Which begged the question, _how_ had he gotten injured? And just as importantly, _when_?

Naruto placed his head in his hands. This was getting him no where fast, and he still had to meet up with Sasuke. Gritting his teeth, he decided to try to power through his injury, and meet up with Sasuke. It had been to long since they were both able to find time to meet up, and he did not want to lose the bond that he had with Sasuke.

Naruto quickly pushed himself up, assuring himself that he would be okay. However, as he put weight on his legs, a sudden pain shot through his right leg. Overwhelmed the joint pain of his leg, and the pain from his previous injury, he found himself quickly losing consciousness and he fell to the floor. The last thing he saw was a small black and white blur rush over to his falling form.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he glanced up at the clock. Naruto was late. While this might not have been terribly unusual, Sasuke had thought that even if he had been running late, all that Special Forces training would have paid off to give him enough speed to make it at least moments after he would be late. Instead, he found himself waiting alone in a bar, looking like he just got stood up for a date.

Grumbling to himself, he glanced up at the clock. "Come on Naruto, this isn't like you. I could understand two or three minutes, that would actually be pretty normal. But for you to be missing for over a half hour is just ridiculous!"

Sasuke grimaced as he noticed that the waiter that he had sent away multiple times was now giving him an irritable look. Sasuke returned it, before going back to staring at the clock.

Finding that there was no enjoyment from trying to see if he could make the clock spontaneously combust from his anger, he figured it would be best to leave. Slowly standing up, he noticed the waiter look almost relieved as he went over to another table. Sasuke gave a small grunt as he once again turned to leave. As he did so, as small form caught his eye.

Sitting over in the corner was a young woman. She had her hair tied down in a ponytail and seemed to have an a far away look as she stared at the empty booth seat across from her. Curious, he slowly walked over to her.

"Hi." He said as he came to a stop just outside the booth seat she was in. He raised an eyebrow at how she jumped when he spoke, but shrugged it off. "I saw you sitting over here alone, and was wondering if you wanted some company."

The young woman turned away, a light pinkish hue crossing her face. "Um, thank you. But, I think my friends will be here soon."

Sasuke nodded. "Okay. When are they going to arrive?"

She glanced up at the clock, a disappointed look crossing her face as she did so. "An hour ago."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. She had waited for her friends for an _hour_, and was still willing to wait? And he had just gotten mad because of Naruto being a half hour late. Coughing into his hand, he tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Oh, I see."

"Uh, maybe you could sit down…if you wanted." The young woman said, twitching nervously in her seat.

Sasuke shrugged. "Alright." After sliding into the booth, he added, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, by the way."

"Hinamori Momo."

Sasuke smiled as he waved a waiter over. After quickly ordering some appetizers, he turned back to Momo. "So, who were you waiting for?"

Momo smiled lightly. "They're my friends from the Academy; Izuru Kira and Abarai Renji."

Sasuke tapped a finger against his head. "I've heard those names from somewhere before."

Momo glanced at him curiously. "You have?"

Sasuke nodded, his tapping increasing as he continued to think about it. After another couple seconds silence, his tapping stopped and his eyes closed. Letting out an exasperated moan, he leaned back in his seat. "I remember where I've heard them from. You're the three who tried to fight off a bunch of Hollows during your first year during a Konso training session."

Momo glanced away nervously. "Yes, that's correct."

Sasuke grinned as he ed open an eye to look at her. "According to what I've heard, both of the guys were more than willing to leave a comrade behind due to orders and would've continued to leave if it hadn't been for another's students actions."

Sasuke felt a slight bit of satisfaction as Momo seemed to nervously glance between the ever entertaining tablecloth and himself. He could easily tell that she was unsure of whether or not that was supposed to be taken as a complement or not. His grin softened as he leaned forward. "It was a reckless thing to do, but I think that that student definitely made the right decision."

Momo glanced up. "Do…do you really think that it was the right decision?"

Sasuke sighed. "I remember something that was told to me long ago, something that I have held onto to this very day. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who don't take care of their comrades…are worse than trash." Noticing that Momo's expression was one of understanding, he grinned. "So when I heard that that student was more than willing to lay her life on the line for the sake of her comrade, and that her friends were willing to do so as well, I couldn't help but appreciate how that saying lives on."

Momo blushed lightly as she turned away. She knew that he had already figured out that she was the student who had intervened on Shuhei Hisagi's behalf. She wasn't sure why he was going through all the trouble of complementing her indirectly, but she felt the sentiment none the less. Smiling lightly, she was about to ask a question when their attention turned to a small commotion nearby.

"I told you we should've ended training early. Now we've made poor Momo wait for us!"

"I wasn't the one who was trying to force myself to unlocking my Shikai for half an hour. Or the one who passed out trying to perform a high leveled Kido without an incantation."

"Hey it worked didn't it?"

Momo sighed as she saw the two figures make their way towards the front desk. "Those would be my friends."

Sasuke blinked. "Well what do you know, they did show up." With a slight sigh, Sasuke slowly stood up. "Well Momo-san, it was a pleasure talking to you."

Momo blinked. "Uh, it was nice talking to you Sasuke-san."

Sasuke nodded as he quickly made his way out, nearly bumping into the waiter on his way out.

A moment later, Renji and Kira sat down. "So, who was the guy?" Renji asked, grabbing a piece of bread and unceremoniously shoving it into his mouth.

Momo blushed. "I don't know who you're talking about."

Kira smiled lightly. "You don't have to lie to us. Besides, we saw him walk out."

Renji nodded vigorously. "Yea, we won't make fun of you or anything. I mean, he was just a guy."

Momo nodded. "Well, okay. I was talking to Uchiha Sasuke."

Renji blinked, his face suddenly doing a very amusing imitation of a fish. "Uchiha…Sasuke? You don't mean…_THE_…Uchiha Sasuke…do you?"

Momo stared back blankly. "What do you mean by _the_ Uchiha Sasuke?"

"He's the only person besides Toshiro to have gone straight from the Academy to one of the divisions with a seated rank." Kira said, filling in the blanks as Renji was to busy faking a heart attack.

Momo nodded. "I see."

Renji stopped his acting as he rounded on Momo. "Just an 'I see'? That guy is a _legend_. You see all kinds of different elemental zanpakuto's, but he's currently the only person to have a _lightning_ element zanpakuto. That's supposed to be one of the rarest kinds of elemental zanpakuto!"

Momo blinked. "I didn't know that."

"Yea well, now you do. And next time you see him, would you mind trying to get me his-"

"Hey, he left you his number." Kira said, suddenly picking up the napkin that had previously been in front of Sasuke. Before Renji could process what Kira had said, he quickly handed the napkin to Momo, out of his hands.

Momo looked over the napkin, a small smile on her face as she read what Sasuke had written below his number.

_I enjoyed our talk. Let's do it again some time. Uchiha Sasuke_

* * *

**Naruto's Inner World**

"_**Well isn't this working out **_**just**_** like you planned?"**_

Gama glanced towards the figure, giving him a slight glare. _"Do you think that I am omnipotent? That I can somehow predict all things that are going to happen? No matter how powerful a Shinigami is, even they do not have such an ability."_

"_**So, what you're saying is, yes. Yes, I did in fact screw up and now we are all going to die."**_

"_We're not going to die."_ Gama said, as he glanced towards a strange ritual-like circle that had been carved into the ground. _"There just a few more pieces to put into place before we can end this."_

"_**Okay, fair enough. But tell me, when do you think you should tell Naruto? I mean, he's the one who's gonna suffer 'till it's done. He's the one who's going to have to learn how to unlock this. And he's the one who's learned to trust you over all these years."**_

"_And I will not simply let that trust be misplaced." _Gama said, quickly pulling out the blade from his back. _"However, if you do not focus, we _are_ going to die before I get this done."_

"_**You certainly have a way with words. Now if only you could use them to not leave him in the dark."**_

"_We can't have him knowing about any of this until I'm done. It's not only my will, but my master's as well."_

_** "Oh yeah, and when do you plan on bringing up that painful subject? Before or after he falls into oblivion?"**_

"_He will know in good time."_

The figure stood there, glaring at Gama as he continued to focus on the circle he was drawing. It was bad enough that the toad had come into Naruto uninvited, but the fact that he was drawing the circle was not helping his comfort level any. Because just like Gama, he knew the way things worked. Things would get worse before they got better, and Naruto would have no idea why any of it was happening until Gama decided to end it.

The figure sighed. _**"Naruto, hold on. This is only going to get more painful from here on out."**_

_**

* * *

**_**AN: I LIVE!!! And leave multiple cliffhangers and Sasuke/Hinamori fluff! (if you could call it that)**

**By the way, the Kaien and Rukia interaction scene was mostly taken from the source, with Sasuke commentary. As is the discussion Sasuke and Hinamori, only with Sasuke recounting it. It actually happened, I just can't remember where I got it from.  
**

**Okay, onixblack, just a quick FWI. I said I do not _plan_ on giving this fic up. I did not lie, it was not my intention to temporarily give this up. I thank you for the...support, as well as the reviews.**

**Speaking of which, REVIEW! It encourages me to avoid schoolwork and write more fanfiction!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Draco Kamikaze here, with chapter 9 of Naruto Chuuten! I can't think of anything else...so enjoy!**

**I don't own Naruto or Bleach.  
**

**

* * *

**_Thoughts/Flashback_

_"Zanpakuto spirit speech"_

(_Japanese translations_)

**Scene change**

**Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens**

_By: Draco Kamikaze_

A lone figure stood within the burning village, in the country formerly known as Nami no Kuni _(the Land of Wave)_. Due to the lack of shinobi in the country, there was hardly any soul energy for him to take, let alone any that were large enough to truly interest the figure. However, despite the strength he would undoubtedly spend on something that seemed like a meaningless task to anyone else, it was one that he was currently relishing in.

It did make it a lot easier to do considering there weren't _any_ shinobi who could have helped, as hopeless as that would have been.

"What pathetic creatures."

Taking a deep breath, he looked over what could only be described as pure destruction. There was no longer anything living in the village, to the point that even the flames were fading. Bodies were scattered throughout, various wounds covering their corpses. He chuckled as he remembered the _valiant_ effort that one of the men had put up to stop him from destroying their village. Inari, he believed his name was. It was almost a shame he had to rip in him apart. He would have preferred to toy with him a little longer.

In the distance, the Great Naruto Bridge was shattered. Only bits and pieces of the structure were left to even suggest that such a bridge had existed.

"The Great Naruto Bridge. Bah. What an unsightly name for an unsightly bridge." The man said as he looked over his work. It was not his best work, he had been able to do so much more in Kumogakure no sato _(Hidden Cloud Village)_. Now _that_ had been fun. The Raikage had an especially resilient soul, that he had savored as he finally put an end to his suffering.

As he continued to look upon the destruction, he almost missed the new presence behind him. "Wow, never would have thought of you for a 'burn things~ to the ground' kinda person."

The man growled slightly as he glanced up. "Is there something you need?"

"Well, it's~ almost time. And we've got front row s~eats~ to the greatest sh~ow in town."

The man slowly turned around, his murky red shirt billowing slightly as he did so. As he glared at the man behind him, he slowly spoke. "I would presume that you are telling me this, because you are expecting something in return…Akogi."

Akogi grinned. "Maybe I am. It's~ been a while since I sh~ed my skin and walked in the body of a god, so I might decide to be a bit…benevolent."

The man scoffed. "You? Benevolent? That's a sure sign of your expectations. Your charity goes as far as the things that you can reach out and take."

Akogi grinned. "Well, that is~ pretty true. Like my new kimono? I got it free from some idiot in Kusagakure."

Akogi twirled around, attempting to show off his kimono. It was a strange combination of colors, the main portion of it was an azure color, with purple colored hemming. His short unruly gray hair almost made him look ridiculous as his grin threatened to split his face.

The other man however, had already started to leave. Seeing that his audience was moving, Akogi jogged after him lazily. As he reached the man's side, he quickly fell into step besides him, acting oblivious to the obvious anger that was coming off his companion.

"What's~ the matter? Does a cat have your tongue at my fabulousness~?"

The man glanced over at Akogi, his face suddenly changing to one of indifference. "Why do you continue to speak like that? I thought that once you got a human form you'd rid yourself of such a strange manner of speech."

Akogi smirked. "I thought s~o to…until I had a change in heart. This~ voice is~ rather endearing, as~ it leaves~ a las~ting impress~ion upon all thos~e people who cross~ my path. That, and it's~ something that only _I_ can have."

The man shook his head. "You and your greed. You know it'll be the end of you, yet you continue on."

"It will be a fabulous~ way for it to end…if it were to." Akogi said, a dark look crossing his face as he continued. "I don't plan on los~ing to anyone though. After all, I've done s~o much in purs~uit of this power, that I will s~trike down all in my path."

The man scoffed. "And are we in your path?"

Akogi glanced at him. "That depends~, are you planning on killing me?"

The man sighed. "No, I don't have the authority to take you apart. If I did, I highly doubt either of us would be here."

There was a short silence as both men slowly entered the Between. As the 'door' behind them closed, the man glanced at Akogi out of the corner of his eye. "Have you ever seen what happens when a planet gets out of balance with its souls?"

Akogi blinked in surprise. "No, I haven't."

The man grin darkly. "It's a beautiful thing. This planet in particular was rather difficult seeing as many of the people here could easily take out Hollows without any particular difficulty. Although, it was rather convenient for us that they were to busy fighting each other, and reviling in their supposed success to notice our presence." He turned around, a mirror rising in front of him as he spoke. "And now, we will see the fruits of our labors."

As they looked in the mirror, it slowly began to glow. As the light grew, it began to take the shape of the Hi no Kuni _(Land of Fire)_. As the light began to settle, the scenery began to shake. Small gouges in the ground slowly took form, connecting, and spreading out to each other, connecting as they slowly began to split the earth. Within moments, the entire landscape was covered with these cracks as the ground began to shake faster.

Suddenly, the land began to split apart, rising and falling with no apparent pattern. In the background, the mountains began to break apart and sink down into the spreading chaos. Then, just as the destruction seemed to reach its peak, a geyser of lava shot out of several of the cracks. The lava poured over the earth, burning it and warping it into a barren wasteland in a matter of moments. Far faster than it seemed possible, the ground gave one final heave, and then collapsed inwardly, completely destroying Hi no Kuni, as well as all the other countries on the face of the planet.

The man chuckled. "And with this, our quest for the end of this planet is over. The imbalance of souls caused the earth to end its own life to gain some form of equilibrium. This is…a beautiful masterpiece."

Akogi rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say…Jiman _(Pride)_."

* * *

**Fourth Division Hospital Room**

Soifon grumbled to herself as she found herself pacing around the room. How could this have happened? Or, an even better question, _what_ had happened.

She sighed as she glanced towards the bed. Naruto lay silently, as he had been for a few hours now. In a way, she was disappointed in the lack of sound coming from him. She never thought that she would miss the hyperactive voice that she generally heard resounding through the Second Division barrack.

Figuring that pacing was doing her no good, she flopped herself carelessly on a nearby couch. She thought back to when she had entered his room, following the strange advice of one Zaraki Kenpachi. While she had not been sure if she should accept his advice or not, she eventually decided to on the off chance that he was right. She never thought she could be more angry at someone for being right than for being wrong.

Since his sudden collapse, Naruto had been in a catatonic state for an hour. Hanataro had been so scared when he had come back with Unohana. Soifon chuckled humorlessly as she remembered how Hanataro had rushed over to him and taken him from her arms as he and Unohana had rushed him to a medical station.

That had been a surprise even to her. Catching him before he had fully fallen to the ground. As she thought back to that moment she tried to figure out why she had done it. Was it because he was a member of Second Division? Was it because he was a member of her personal guard? Or was she just missing something?

"_If I may, it sounds like your having trouble with your thoughts."_

Soifon sighed as she heard Suzumebachi talk in the back of her head. "How could you tell?"

"_There's kind of a windstorm picking up. I can only assume that you're having troublesome thoughts."_

Soifon groaned. "I don't know what's going on anymore. This…this isn't me."

"_It sure feels like you. You've been having this problem on and off for a while now."_

Soifon blinked. "I have? Since when?"

"_Think back. I'm sure you'll get it."_

Soifon glared up at the ceiling as she let her mind wander down memory lane.

**Flashback – Meeting**

_Soifon glanced at the two boys in front of her. Naruto and Sasuke glanced between each other as they fidgeted nervously. She had no intention of speaking to either of them, as they were already disrupting her as it was. Giving Kaien a sidelong glance, silently telling him to get them out of there, she returned to her work._

_Kaien tried to move them away, understanding that Soifon was obviously not in the mood to talk. There was something else in his movements that seemed that he was urgently trying to get them out, but she ignored it in place of her work. She had no time for undisciplined kids._

_Sasuke, the more sensible of the two, followed Kaien immediately out of the room. Naruto on the other hand, just stood there. Soifon continued to go through her paperwork, trying to ignore his presence. After a moment she glanced up. He still stood there, looking at her curiously. Soifon sighed. "What do you what?"_

_Naruto blinked. She watched him glance around, and figured that –somehow- he had lost track of his group. Quickly moving to the door, he paused on his way out. Glancing back at her, he smiled._

"_It was nice to meet you Soifon."_

**- Students Training Field**

_Soifon stood outside the Academy, looking down at the kids as they continued on with their daily activities. She was scouting for any potential Second Division members that she could possibly recommend to the Sotaicho. So far, she had found that none of them were too her liking. They were all soft, undisciplined, and slow. She did notice that a few of them might have had the right stuff to get in, but quickly marked them off as going to other divisions that were more suitable._

_Sighing to herself, she turned to leave the training ground. As she did so, she noticed a figure that she had not noticed before. He was standing, completely still underneath a tree, his sword sheathed, and his eyes focused on one leaf in particular. Curious, she silently sat down._

_It was a patience game, as he waited for the leaf to fall. Soifon took this opportunity to look him over, trying to figure out who she was seeing. The boy in front of her was stocky, but not like many of the Eleventh Division members were. His eyes were calculating, yet silently lost in thought. His hair blew lightly in the wind, as he continued to wait for his target._

_Suddenly, his stance shifted. Shooting forward, he drew his sword in a quick motion, splitting the falling leaf in two. From there it was a dance, moving to and fro as he attempted to not allow a single leaf to touch the ground. As she watched, a name finally began to put itself with his face. Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto._

_But that could not be right. She had seen Naruto on his first day, he had come into her barracks. Undisciplined, scatterbrained, a jester, an accident waiting to happen. That is what she took away from that first encounter. And he did not appeared to be like that in any way, shape, or form. Determined, focused, a warrior, poetry in motion. It was like watching a totally different person._

_As he cut the last leaf, she watched his shoulders slouch. "It's almost poetic."_

_Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, "If this is poetry, then what is the message? What are you getting from watching this?"_

_Her hand clenched into a fist as she silently cursed herself. She had not only reveled her presence to him, but had somehow been pulled into questioning him as well. She bit her lip, silently praying that a part of the idiot she had seen when they had first met was still in him._

_And then, he began to give an analogy. She could not help but look at him in confusion as he brought up a relatable message from something that seemed almost pointless. There was something about this Naruto…something she was finding difficult to place._

**- Second Division Barracks**

_Soifon quickly moved through her barracks. She was going to her private training field…which felt a lot less private since Naruto had asked to be trained by her. She was hardly getting a moment to herself, and now that Naruto was being sent on more missions, she would be able to get more of that time to herself._

_Turning the corner, she suddenly found herself face to face with the very person she had been thinking about._

_Naruto blinked in surprise. "Oh, hello Taicho-sensei. Off to training?"_

_Soifon sighed. "Yes Uzumaki. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."_

_Moving around him, she continued on her way out of the barracks. She silently hoped that Naruto would not do anything stupid while on the mission, or while she was absent from the barracks for that matter. However, what he said next was something that she found herself completely unprepared for._

"_You look nice today."_

_Soifon stopped, whirling around to face Naruto. "…what?"_

_Naruto grinned. "I said, 'you look nice today'."_

_Soifon blinked, unsure of how to respond. She had been raised in a way that most of the complements –if not all- she had ever received had been from Yoruichi. Looking away from Naruto, she thought of what she should say to that. After a moment, she finally found the words that had been lost to her for a long time. "Uh…thank you?"_

_Naruto's grin softened. "You're welcome."_

**- Eighth Division Party**

"_Dang it Uzumaki, stop swaying!"_

_Soifon grumbled to herself as she attempted to maneuver Naruto's swaying form around a corner. They had just left Shunsui's party, and were making their way back to the barracks. Or trying to, as Naruto has somehow gotten drunk during their short stay despite Nanao's diligent effort to make sure that Shunsui would unable to get any himself, as it would be unbecoming of a captain to act like that at his own party._

"_Aw~ but Soi-chan~! I was…having fun at the…at the party." Naruto said, drawing out his speech as he stumbled again. "Whoops."_

_Soifon glared at him as she straightened him out. "Whoops indeed. What did they give you?"_

_Naruto shook his head. "Nuttin…jus a glass of punch is all. Shunsui and everyone already had one…so I had some too."_

_Soifon resisted the urge to growl at this. It was the oldest trick in the book, spiking the punch. And yet, somehow, Shunsui had managed to get someone to sneak some sake in to do it. And whatever it was, it seemed to be pretty strong. Either that…or Naruto was a lightweight._

"_Eh, Soi-chan?" Naruto said, surprising her as he suddenly tried to straighten out._

_Soifon grumbled. "What Uzumaki?"_

"_Do you think Taicho-sensei is pretty?"_

_Soifon froze, unsure of what she had heard. Glancing up, she studied his curious face for a moment, trying to figure out just how drunk he was. After a moment, she decided to find out for herself. "You know, I'm not sure." She rolled her head in his direction and calmly asked, "What do you think?"_

"_Me?" Naruto asked, his thoughts slowly composing themselves. After an agonizing moment, he finally spoke. "I dunno. She looks nice, but she acts so rough."_

_Soifon glared at him. Was he complaining about her training methods? After all that she had done to help him advance in his skills, he was going to complain about it? "What do you mean rough? Is disciplined not-"_

"_She doesn't have to you know. Act rough. I don think anybody would care." Naruto said, ignoring Soifon's outburst. "She just…she strong without breaking. I think…she hurting…inside."_

_Soifon had to bit down on her lip to prevent herself from kicking herself. _Tough_, she thought, _he thinks that I'm acting tough. But…why does he sound so concerned about it?

"_I'm sleepy." Naruto said, suddenly slumping down on her shoulder._

_With a large sigh, Soifon continued to make her way back to the barracks, suddenly feeling more confused than ever before. To think, all she wanted was to get away from a party she didn't even want to attend in the first place; now she was trying to figure out the mystery of Naruto._

**- Soifon's Training Ground (Different Time)**

_Soifon slowly made her way to her training grounds. While she was exhausted from the workout she had gone through earlier in the day, she found herself going back to her training grounds yet again. The reason; Naruto had returned from a mission, and got everyone worried because he looked depressed. And since no one was able to find him, and no one wanted to think about going to her training grounds, she was the only person who would be able to find him if he was there._

_Sure enough, as she approached her training grounds, she saw a darkened figure against the gentle moonlight. Slowly approaching him, she eventually came to a stop by his side. She figured that if he wanted to talk, he would do so when he was good and ready._

_Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she winced as she noticed the defeated look in his eyes. They seemed to have lost that burning passion that he would normally have held at any other given time. Slowly giving in, she spoke up first. "What's on your mind Naruto?"_

_Naruto glanced up, somehow startled by her presence. "Oh, Soifon." Immediately after he had said her name, he snapped his jaw shut. Shaking his head, sighing as he began to speak again. "I'm sorry…I meant, Taicho-sensei. What are you doing here?"_

_Soifon glanced at him curiously. He had never slipped up on calling her 'Taicho-sensei' before, not counting the time he was drunk. Which meant that whatever was on his mind was messing it up, and making him lose focus. She sighed. _Not an easy problem to fix._ She thought as she spoke, "The guys in our division noticed you leave and were worried about you. What's on your mind Uzumaki?"_

_Soifon felt a slight tightening of her chest as she noticed him wince at the question. "It-it's nothing. Just some issues that I need to resolve."_

_Soifon smacked his head. "Baka. You might not realize it, but when you're in a bad place, _everyone_ in Second Division knows it. And they're all concerned. Now would you mind being a bit more specific?"_

_Naruto glanced up at her, rubbing his head. "Fine. But you have to promise not to laugh." Soifon gave him a scrutinizing look, that made Naruto turn away. "Uh…my zanpakuto is being mean to me."_

"…_what?" Soifon asked, blinking in confusion. She must have heard him wrong; after all, there was no way that his zanpakuto was being _mean_ to him. It was the embodiment of his fighting spirit. They should have gotten along just fine._

"_You heard me." Naruto said, his previous rubbing turned into a clutching motion and he grasped his hair in apparent frustration. "I don't know why, but after my mission, Gama-san was going off on me. I didn't think I did anything bad, far from it. I was able to help a lot of my friends, and was able to purify plenty of Hollows. It took a bit out of me, but what we're looking for is the end result…isn't it?"_

_Soifon nodded. "Yes, that is the purpose of our missions."_

_Naruto sighed. "If anything I think that Gama-san is confusing me. Like…I'm talking to him at one moment, and then someone else the next! …I'm starting to think he bipolar or something."_

_Soifon shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise most people."_

_Naruto gave her a questioning glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_Soifon waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing, nothing at all." Turning around, she began to walk back to the barracks. "I'm going to head back for now. You can stay here until you feel that you've figured out everything you need to."_

_Naruto nodded. "Alright I will. Oh and Taicho-sensei…thanks for coming to find me."_

_Soifon felt a small chill run down her spine. She forcibly moved herself back to the Second Division barracks, all the while fighting the urge to go back and make sure he got back alright._

**Present**

Soifon sighed. "I still don't get it."

"_Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out."_

Soifon grumbled to herself, and to Suzumebachi as she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to overcome her.

* * *

**Thirteenth Division Training Ground**

A loud crash rang out through the training grounds as Sasuke and Kaien clashed. Both of their swords were released, and neither one appeared to be backing down any time soon. With a loud roar, Sasuke swung Raikiri in a downward arc, lightning streaking from the edge of the blade. Kaien barely had time to dodge as Sasuke's blade cut through the space he had just moments before occupied.

Kaien had a calm, collected smile, which was reflected by Sasuke, as each attempted to break through the others defense. Sasuke continued his previous assault by thrusting Raikiri forward, lightning shooting across the blade as he let it extend towards his opponent. Kaien just chuckled as he let the crashing waves of Nejibana -his own zanpakuto- crash between himself and the lightning.

Kaien understood the science behind Sasuke's techniques, and how his own would usually make things worse. As water easily conducted electricity, Sasuke should have had the advantage from the beginning. However, he'd soon found himself attempting to dodge the rebound of his own techniques as Kaien let his own water natured zanpakuto conduct the lightning and move on towards Sasuke.

Sasuke cursed as he jumped back, avoiding another wave of lightning powered water. This was ridiculous. He'd faced every other member of Thirteenth Division, excluding the captain, and was only held back by Kaien. Only Kaien had the experience and power to take on Sasuke as he constantly challenged himself to improve.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke concentrated on his reiatsu into his hand. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the - !"

Kaien's eyes widened as he heard the incantation, quickly whipping his own hand towards Sasuke. "Bakudo 9: Geki! (_Strike_)"

Sasuke froze in place, a red light engulfing him as Kaien's Bakudo took effect. Unable to do anything else, Sasuke glared at Kaien. Kaien simply grinned as he placed Nejibana against Sasuke's throat. "I do believe…that is checkmate."

Sasuke cursed as the reiatsu that had been binding him was released. After resealing Raikiri he chuckled, holding out his hand towards Kaien. "That makes it thirty to nine, doesn't it?"

"I stopped counting after your last win." Kaien said, returning Nejibana to its own sealed state. As he sheathed it, he gave Sasuke a sidelong glance. "You wouldn't happen to remember when _that_ was, would you?"

Sasuke suddenly found a newfound interest in the ground as he kicked up a bit of dust. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kaien chuckled. "I'm sure you don't. Come on, let's head back."

"Fine." Sasuke murmured, slowly sheathing his own sword.

As they walked back to the Thirteenth Division barracks, they talked about a few how they were doing, how the people they knew were doing. Which, slowly lead into a conversation about Naruto.

"So, what did you and Naruto talk about last night?" Kaien asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Sasuke flinched. "Uh, nothing much. Just chatting, really."

"Really?" Kaien asked, curiosity suddenly shooting through the roof. "And, what kind of stuff were you chatting about?"

"Nothing."

"It sure doesn't sound like nothing. Come on, I won't tell anyone."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. _Why can't he just let it go? I need time to think up some reasonable imaginary conversation that Kaien might believe! This is really –_

Sasuke suddenly stopped as he felt his phone suddenly vibrate. Confused, but glad for the distraction, he quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Um…hello?"

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "Hinamori-san?"

"Y-yes."

Sasuke suddenly grinned. "Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good. But – "

"Hey Momo! Stop hogging the phone, I wanna talk to him!"

"R-Renji!"

"Renji you moron, leave her alone."

"But this is THE Sasuke! I just wanna talk to him!"

"That doesn't mean you should steal Hinamori's phone."

"Yea Renji."

"Oh come on. Just a few seconds? I promise not to say anything stupid."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I never thought I'd hear someone who sounded as intelligent as Naruto…or someone with a lack of intelligence to match him."

Kaien shook his head. "No way, there is no one who could possibly stand up to Naruto's stupidity."

Sasuke glanced at him, staring him down before quickly setting his phone to speakerphone.

"Come on! I'll do anything, just let me talk to him! This is so not fair!"

"Renji, we understand that you're upset…but could you _please_ put your sword away and stop trying to kill Kira? I mean, this is getting a little out of hand, don't you think?"

"No way! Let me talk to him!"

Kaien blinked, awestruck by what he was hearing. "Well what do you know, there is someone with an IQ level equal to Naruto's. I didn't think that was possible."

"And now you know." Sasuke said, returning the phone to its normal settings as he listened in on their –rather amusing- conversation.

"This doesn't mean you're off the hook though. I still want to know what you guys talked about."

_Crap._ "Hinamori, you do realize the phone is still on, right?"

"Huh? Oh, Sasuke! Sorry about that, Renji is just – hey!"

"Hello? Sasuke? Is that really you?"

Sasuke blinked. "Uh, who is this?"

"Abarai Renji! We met in passing last night when you were flirting with Hinamori."

"He wasn't flirting with me!"

"Whatever. Anyways, I was wondering if we could talk. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions…uh, for a report. Yea, a report. Best cover up, ever."

Sasuke shook his head. "It might have been…if you hadn't said that last part out loud."

"Huh? Oh, that I mean, that is…uh…"

Sasuke mischievous smirk crossed his face. _Screw whatever I thought of him before, this guy makes Naruto look smart._ "You know I would, answer some questions, but I don't think this obsession is very healthy for you. Besides, despite what you may or may not have heard, I don't swing that way."

"What? Wait, NO! No, nonononononono!!! That's not what I was saying at all! I just wanted to ask for some tips on how to get ahead once in the – "

"Bakudo 9: Geki!"

There was a sudden clatter from the other end of the line. Then, "Sorry about that, Renji can be a bit compulsive at times."

Sasuke chuckled. "Well, I'm not really sure if I could blame him, but he did come about it the wrong way. Maybe if I were to talk to him, and knock some sense into him, he'd stop being…an idiot."

"I doubt it, but I guess you could try."

"So, where should we meet at?" Sasuke asked, slightly looking forward to fighting someone he _knew_ he could defeat.

"Uh, how about the restaurant that we met at yesterday?"

Sasuke grinned. "That sound great. How does – "

"Kira! Help me up! The dirt is getting in my eyes!"

"Do you know how annoying you're sounding?"

" – half and hour sound?"

"Alright. I'll see you then. Bye."

"Goodbye."

As Sasuke hung up the phone, he suddenly felt a shiver run up his spine. Glancing around, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the shiver continued to itch its way up to the base of his skull, where he absent mindedly began to scratch at it.

Kaien watched Sasuke's sudden, drastic change. He went from smiling like an idiot who had just gotten high for the first time, to suddenly serious and down in the dumps. He quickly reasoned that Sasuke was thinking intensely about the girl, as he began to scratch his head in thought. Naturally, Kaien did what any other good friend would do.

"Sasuke's got a girlfriend. Sasuke's got a girlfriend. Sasuke's got a girlfriend."

Sasuke blinked, shaking his head suddenly. "What – wait, no! She's not my girlfriend!"

Kaien smirked. "You should have told me you! Now I can finally give one of you two knuckleheads advice on how to court a girl! Plus I'll win the bet!"

Sasuke growled. "Look, she's not my – bet? What bet?"

Kaien gulped. "Uh, I didn't say bet."

"Yes, you did." Sasuke glared at Kaien as he took a step closer, trying to catch the man in his slip up. "What was the bet?"

Kaien suddenly walked off, whistling nonchalantly. Sasuke blinked, confused by his sudden change in behavior. As he caught up, and attempted to reengage him to find out what had happened, he noticed a member of Second Division racing towards them.

The poor youth, out of breath as though he'd run a great distance, attempted to catch his breath before speaking. "Soifon-taicho wanted to see you at Fourth Divisions barracks. She wants to know if you've noticed anything strange about Naruto."

Sasuke shrugged. "Not really, unless you count how he normally acts as strange. I haven't seen him since a few weeks ago."

Sasuke suddenly stopped speaking, finally catching onto what the messenger had said. "Wait, Fourth Division? Why is Naruto in Fourth Division? He's the _last_ person I'd expect to be in need of medical attention."

"Sorry Sasuke-san, I'm just the messenger. However, if you'll come with me, we might be able to sort out this mess."

Sasuke nodded to the messenger, before turning back to Kaien. "Sorry Kaien, but we're going to have to have this conversation another time."

Kaien shrugged. "No problem. Just let me know what he did."

Sasuke agreed, and followed after the messenger. As he watched them run off, Kaien suddenly realized something. "How could Sasuke have had a conversation with Naruto last night if he hasn't seen him for a few weeks? Oh Sasuke, nothing's going to get you out of telling me what _really_ happened last night!"

* * *

**Naruto's Inner World**

"_**Holy s--t on a f-----g sandwich! This is **_**not**_** looking good!"**_

"No~ you think?"

Covering a good portion of Naruto's inner world was a pitch black aura that had already enveloped a sizable portion of said inner world. No longer able to simply stand around, they were both running around and attempting to push back the dark energy, with an obvious lack of success. Every attempt they had currently made, had only increased the aura to cover an even larger portion of his inner world.

"_**Are you finished with your little project yet? 'Cause, if you're not, I'm sure that the world will be more than ready and capable of taking the explosion of energy that is bound to come out."**_

"No, it's not done. Are you happy with your little taunts? Does it make you feel like you've accomplished something while Naruto's torn apart?"

"_**Dude, lay off. I'm just saying, Naruto is currently in the middle of Fourth Division, the **_**center of healing**_**. And if this gets out, it's likely that it's **_**not**_** going to be a little destruction that's bound to ensue. Did you ever think of that?"**_

Gama blinked in confusion. "Uh…no?"

The shadowed figure shook his head. _**"It figures. You come up with the idea of sealing the power back up, but you forget that there might be casualties if this goes horribly wrong. Seriously, who do you work for? 'Cause they cannot be this stupid!"**_

"They aren't. I just didn't realize that _you_ would have realized this as well."

"_**Yea, okay, so the idiot's brain doesn't work. Hardy har har. And can you please explain why I'm still covered in shadows? I mean, I'm now in broad daylight, and have no reason to be hidden in shadow?!?!"**_

Gama glanced up at the figure. Truth be told, he himself didn't understand what was fully going on within Naruto's inner world. The fact that he had a shadow enveloped entity simply made it even further confusing for him. Not to mention the problems that they Kyuubi was giving him.

Gama shook his head. "It's probably just this darkness. It's consuming everything, so why not the light?"

"…_**uh, good point? Whatever, we've got to – "**_

The shadow figure and Gama suddenly stopped, sudden realization shooting through them. Both glanced at each other, confused, and praying that they were wrong. After a moment of silence, Gama spoke, "Naruto's waking up…"

"_**Yep. And he is so~ not going to like what's he's going to find."**_

In the distance, the shadows continued to creep closer.

* * *

**Fourth Division**

Naruto groaned as he sat up. His vision was slightly blurred for some reason, and he felt like he was being held upside-down. Resisting the urge to vomit, he swung his feet to the side of the bed. Almost too quickly, his feet connected with the cold floor. A shiver ran though him, his mind vaguely noticing how sensitive his feet were to the cold.

Stumbling upwards, he attempted to focus on the world around him. As the furry on multi-colored images whirled around, his eyes found themselves focusing something that looked like a giant slug. Curious by this, he focused on the image, letting it reform into something his mind could understand.

After a moment, it finally decided to turn back into reality, where he saw Soifon sleeping peacefully on the couch. Smiling to himself, Naruto walked silently towards Soifon. Despite the fact that she was definitely more skilled at detection than someone like him was at assassination, she didn't so much as stir in her sleeping as Naruto approached.

Noticing that she had somehow knocked a few blankets off the couch that someone had attempted to give to her, he chuckled softly. "Either she's a restless sleeper, or she's too stubborn for her own good."

Picking up one of the blankets, Naruto slowly draped it over her shoulders. He paused for a moment when she appeared to stir, but slowly let out a small sigh as she continued to sleep. "Sweet dreams, Soifon."

Moving around the couch, he silently made his way outside. Taking to the roofs, he began to leap from roof to roof, no particular destination in mind as he did so.

After a moment of pointless roof jumping, he came to a stop. A pain shot through his shoulder, as a trickle of blood began to seep from the random wound. Naruto groaned, "Great, just what I need, another out-of-nowhere wound."

Glancing around, he figured he was still in Fourth Division, and near enough to anyone who might be able to give him sufficient medical attention. A grimace crossed his face. "I never really liked hospitals, but today, I just can't get away from them!"

Hopping from the roof to the ground, Naruto glanced around for a nearby room that he could possibly use. After several seconds, he finally noticed on off on the end, partially hidden in shadows. "Spooky, but I'm sure it'll work all the same."

As he walked towards the room, he suddenly had a bad feeling wash over him. He paused for a second, reconsidering going to that particular room to get medical supplies. There were plenty of other places to get them from, although he preferred to get better faster so as to make sure that he didn't miss totoo much time with his friends, and training. Gritting his teeth, and throwing his strange feeling behind him, he continued towards the room.

Slowly entering, the first thing he noticed was that there was someone on one of the hospital beds, a dry cloth draped over his head, and various IV's hanging around the bed. Shuddering at the thoughthought of needles, he ignored the person as he looked to see if there was anything he could use to stop the bleeding.

While looking through the different cabinets, he suddenly felt nauseous. Backing away from the cabinets for a second, attempting to control his stomach, he was almost immediately beset upon by a sudden feeling of vertigo. As the world spun around him, he collapsed to his knees, his mind still attempting to grasp at everything at once. Because of this, he quickly found himself staring at lunch as it came back to haunt him.

Naruto coughed roughly, feeling a shudder go through him. This was getting to be a little more spooky that he'd originally thought. Sudden wounds from nowhere, and vertigo when he was just walking around. Naruto groaned. "Can Kami find any other way to screw up my day?"

"Wh-who's there?"

Naruto's eyes shot open, his body completely going numb. He slowly turned around, facing the patient that he'd ignored since he'd walked in. Apparently, Kami not only had a sense of dramatic timing, but knew where and how to hurt Naruto the most.

Slowly standing up, careful to not step in the mess he'd just made, he stumbled over towards the bed. His heart beat faster as he moved to move the cloth from his head. His hands were shaking violently, and scowled at his weakness. Taking a few deep breaths, he quickly removed the cloth, silently hoping and praying that he was wrong, that this wasn't the person who he thought it was.

Unfortunately, Kami wasn't being kind to him today. Slowly, as though the motion pained him, the man slowly opened his eyes. After a moment to adjust to the light, he turned to Naruto. He spoke slowly, his voice sounding like it had been sandblasted in a furnace. "…Na…Naruto?"

Naruto felt tears come to his eyes, as he slowly knelt by his bedside. "It can't be…you can't be dead."

* * *

**AN: CUT!!! *audience booing* Yea, I know, it's a bit shorter than the usual chapters, and left you with even MORE cliffhangers that I originally planned, but with you readers still interested, I wanted to show I'm back on the bandwagon again. So, just out of curiousity, who wants shorter chapters and quicker updates, and who wants longer chapters and slower updates?**

**Fluff in this chapter, only this time it's filling in with Naruto and Soifon! And some side fluff from Sasuke and Hinamori…with our new comedian, Renji!**

**If you look back on previous chapters, a lot of the 's' portions are now replaced with girls or other missing words. I know I may have missed a few…but I'm not sure where.**

**A special thanks to onixblack, who beta'd this chapter. If you see anything wrong besides the plot, please continue directing all questions and comments to me. It makes my job a lot easier, and his the more so.**

**Now, brownie points and special mention in the next chapter for the person who can guess the show/series where I stole at least one of the characters lines! It's hidden in the text, but I assure you, it's there.**

**Next time: Who is the mysterious figure in Naruto's inner world? Can you guess who Naruto talking to in the hospital room? Will I ever learn to write romance and fluff properly? Tune into the next chapter, and find out!**

**Also, apologies to the people who helped me pick out a sword name/type for Naruto; it had to be changed. I'll explain why when the name is released, which means you'll have to keep reading to find out why. Enjoy.**

**Remember, I won't know if you like/disliked this chapter that you just read, if you don't send me a review. Flames and complements accepted, critique an otherwise desperately needed.**


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